A/HRC/31/45 numerous human rights had been violated, and yet nothing could justify the stigmatization and exclusion of drug users, discrimination against minorities, torture or the death penalty. Drug policies should not be assessed on their good intentions, but on their effectiveness. Colombia found it unacceptable for hundreds of thousands of individuals to languish in prisons on life sentences or even death sentences for drug-related crimes, or for forced labour to be imposed on drug users. Women and children convicted of drug-related offences in particular suffered from severe sentences. 12. The devastating effect of drug trafficking in Colombia had also stoked the armed conflict and sapped resources that could have otherwise been invested in health, education and development. Internationally, Colombia had proposed an agenda aimed at eliminating the death penalty, decriminalizing drug use, adopting harm-reduction measures and implementing alternative measures to imprisonment. It was important to recognize in the fight against drugs that the international system could not continue using the same policies to address different realities; the problems had changed and it was not possible to use a universal approach with a focus on punishment. Public health, development and human rights could not be placed on the sidelines in the fight against drugs. 13. The Executive Director of the International Drug Policy Consortium said that the upcoming special session of the General Assembly on drugs would be an important opportunity to have an open and honest debate regarding the challenges and shortcomings of the global response to drug control and to acknowledge the widespread and devastating consequences of punitive laws and repressive law enforcement practices on human rights. She said it was encouraging that the links between drug policies and human rights were being increasingly addressed by the United Nations, but it was deeply concerning that the right to life was frequently compromised by aggressive supply reduction activities that had led to death sentences for drug offenders. The death penalty may under international law be applied only for the most serious crimes, and drug offences did not fall into that category. A number of States nevertheless executed drug offenders in ever-increasing numbers, while others had sought to reintroduce capital punishment for drug crimes. There were also serious concerns about extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions carried out in the name of drug control efforts. 14. Ms. Fordham added that the negative impact of the criminalization of drug use continued to be of grave concern. Individuals had a right to gain access to life-saving health services without fear of punishment or discrimination, but the fear of criminal sanctions had driven people who use drugs away from life-saving harm-reduction services, leading to avoidable infection and premature death from HIV and hepatitis C. Such criminalization also served to justify harsh measures, including torture, the denial of due process and compulsory placement in drug detention centres for the supposed treatment and rehabilitation of people who used drugs. Finally, the burden of highly disproportionate sentences for drug offences was largely borne by vulnerable groups, including women and ethnic minorities. She added that incarceration fuelled poverty and social exclusion. The Council should create a special procedure on drug policies and human rights, and request other special procedure mandate holders to produce a comprehensive joint report on the impact of drug policies on their mandates. It should also consider designating a day, to be observed annually, for discussion on the impact of the world drug problem on human rights. 15. Mr. Mohamedou said that States with a low level of socioeconomic development were particularly vulnerable to the drug problem. In those States, drug policies were generally lacking or not as elaborate as they should be. Drug-related problems had an impact on governance, the rule of law and human rights, and drug-related issues were understudied and not addressed sufficiently. There were new patterns of complexity that called for more research. Whereas previous initiatives had focused on supply reduction, the 4