Publication

This commentary explains why the UN General Assembly’s Special Session on the World Drug Problem (UNGASS), which occurred in April 2016, helped inject fresh momentum into drug policy debates in West Africa. Since some organizations and governments in the region have started to promote more progressive drug policies, UNGASS is now in a position to offer fresh starting points for new partnerships. For genuinely comprehensive policy changes to occur, however, a number of national governments will have to jettison their still repressive approaches and the EU will have to rethink its security sector programs for the region.