Drug Proposed Constitutional Amendment dennounced at the UN Human Rights Council

The Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC, in Portuguese) that criminalizes the possession of all kinds of illegal drugs in Brazil was the focus of a complaint by the Brazilian NGO Conectas during the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday (24).

The organization points out that the so-called "PEC das Drogas" (Drugs Proposed Constitutional Amendment, in English) is part of a "legislative raid against fundamental rights in Brazil", following the Congress' overturning of the "saidinha", as it was dubbed in Brazil a benefit to inmates in semi-open conditions allowing them five annual opportunities to leave prison to visit relatives, for instance.

The main argument is that the text deepens the problems of current Brazilian criminal legislation by not distinguishing between users and drug traffickers, affecting mainly young Black people in the country.

"In 2022, more than 832,000 people were deprived of their liberty, about a third under the Drug Law. The Brazilian state responds to substance use with prohibition, punishment, forced hospitalization and police violence, which in many cases is lethal," the NGO said in a video sent to the UN council.

Conectas defended the adoption of drug policies based on harm reduction that involve civil society in their creation. "The Brazilian state must refrain from legislating against human rights in the criminal justice system," it said, adding the need to "implement support and care measures considering liberty, and which are built with the participation of civil society, especially the people who are most affected by them."

PEC 45/2023

The amendment, approved by the Constitution and Justice Committee (CCJ, in Portuguese) of the Chamber of Deputies on June 12, amends the Constitution to criminalize the possession and carrying of any illicit drug without authorization, regardless of the quantity.

Authored by the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (Social Democratic Party), the PEC was created as a reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on the decriminalization of marijuana.

The text was approved in the Senate in April and now goes to the Special Committee of the Chamber before going to the plenary, with no date scheduled for a vote.