This information has been directly sourced from the statement regarding compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centres in Asia and the Pacific in the context of COVID-19.
Against the backdrop of COVID-19, recalling the 2012 Joint Statement on compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centres and the 2020 Joint Statement on COVID-19 in prisons and other closed settings, United Nations entities urgently appeal to Member States to permanently close compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centres and implement voluntary, evidence-informed and rights-based health and social services in the community as an important measure to curb the spread of COVID-19 and to facilitate the recovery and reintegration of those in the centres back into their families and communities.
The COVID-19 pandemic is posing multiple challenges to countries in Asia and the Pacific in designing and implementing response and recovery measures that are efficient and respect the rights of all people, with the objective of leaving no one behind. Among the groups particularly at risk of contracting the virus are people in compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers. They are often comprised of people who are suspected of using drugs or being dependent on drugs, people who have engaged in sex work, or children who have been victims of sexual exploitation.
