International advocates and policy experts have officially launched the Eindhoven Declaration at the 69th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND 69) in Vienna, placing children’s rights drug policy at the centre of global debate.

The declaration calls on state parties, national authorities, multilateral agencies, and civil society organisations worldwide to protect children from drugs and restore the child’s right to a drug-free life as a non-negotiable priority in international drug policy. Developed following an international conference in the Netherlands in March 2025, the document now stands as a formal call to action on the world stage.

For the declaration’s architects, the CND 69 launch marks the culmination of sustained effort. In recent years, international guidelines on drugs and human rights have quietly replaced the rights of the child with the rights of the individual, a shift one architect described as one that “almost vanquishes the right of the child.”

“What we’re trying to do is bring back the right of the child, bring it back to its position of primacy where it should be prioritised.”

— Eze Eluchie, Esq., co-architect of the Eindhoven Declaration

The Eindhoven Declaration: Why We Must Protect Children from Drugs

At the heart of the Eindhoven Declaration sits Article 33 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the most widely ratified human rights treaty in UN history, with 196 state parties. Critically, Article 33 obliges every signatory nation to protect children from drugs and to prevent their involvement in the production and supply of controlled substances.

The declaration’s architects are clear on what this means in practice. “Article 33 essentially says that drug use is outside of the environment of any child,” one noted. “Logically, that means drug users are perpetrators against the safety and security of the child.” Furthermore, the architects warn that certain lobby groups are actively working to establish a so-called “right to use drugs” through human rights language and documentation. The architects characterise this push as “an end run around the law.”

Additionally, under Article 3 of the CRC, state parties must place the best interest of the child as a priority in all actions. The declaration therefore urges governments and institutions to honour that obligation specifically in the context of drug policy, where its authors argue it has been quietly set aside.

Prevention First: The Cornerstone of a Drug-Free Society

The declaration firmly establishes that prevention of illicit drug use is the primary and most effective strategy to reduce drug-related harm across society. Consequently, it calls on all national and territorial authorities to place prevention at the top of every policy and action plan. Cessation, recovery, and rehabilitation then follow as the ultimate goals of any genuine treatment effort.

Moreover, the document urges the international community to resist and reject efforts to normalise illicit drug use. It draws a direct parallel with the zero-tolerance positions already enshrined in the CRC regarding child exploitation, trafficking, slavery, and the use of children in armed conflict. To carve out an exception for illicit drug exposure while maintaining zero tolerance for these other violations, the declaration argues, is indefensible.

Families and communities also feature prominently throughout the declaration’s recommendations. It calls on parents, extended families, grassroots organisations, and corporate bodies to take ownership of efforts to protect children from drugs at the local level. Indeed, the declaration notes that communities can address illicit drug use most cost-effectively when they act close to its source.

No Legal Basis for a ‘Right to Use Drugs’

The declaration takes a firm stand against the claim that any legal right to use illicit drugs exists under current international law. Children already hold a legally established right to protection from illicit drugs under existing international treaties. Moreover, no legal provision exists from which anyone could derive a right to use such drugs.

The declaration also calls on regulatory agencies to hold the line on scientific rigour. Specifically, it demands that products derived from historically controlled substances, including cannabis, LSD, MDMA, and psilocybin, go through the same testing and certification pathways as any other medicine. Efforts to skip or circumvent these established protocols must not proceed.

A Global Movement to Protect Children from Drugs Begins

The architects behind the Eindhoven Declaration describe the CND 69 launch not as a conclusion, but as a starting point. They express hope that state parties will not only sign on but actively join the broader conversation the declaration seeks to open. Ultimately, the goal is to return children’s rights drug policy to the foreground of international deliberations where it belongs.

The Dalgarno Institute, which participated in the declaration’s development, has thrown its support behind the launch, describing it as a phenomenal and necessary piece of work that restores a vital obligation to centre stage.

National and territorial authorities, multilateral agencies, communities, and civil society organisations worldwide can now adopt and endorse the declaration’s recommendations. The international prevention community will be watching closely to see how many state parties act on the commitments they have already made under Article 33 of the CRC.

Watch: UN Convention of Rights of the Child Article 33: Protection Against Drug Use — Eindhoven Declaration https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oJD1UM7sYA

Source: Eindhoven Declaration FINAL