The secretary-general of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, shared a story of his approach to the illegal drug problem when he was prime minister of Portugal. With three international drug conventions as his guide, he said he implemented non-criminal responses to the possession of drugs for personal use. He allocated more resources for the prevention of drug abuse, treatment and social reintegration programs.

Today Portugal has one of the lowest drug-related death rates in Europe, according to Guterres. HIV incidence from injecting drugs has fallen dramatically from 2001 when the country had the highest rate in Europe, he added. Overall rates of drug use and all sexually transmitted diseases have also declined, he said.

Guterres reported these accomplishments as part of his message as UN chief on the observance of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – a special day on June 26 approved by the UN General Assembly in December 1987. This year, the theme of the annual observance is “Listen First – Listening to children and youth is the first step to help them grow healthy and safe.”

The thrust of the initiative is to boost drug abuse prevention using science-based approaches and respecting human rights. The use of lethal force of course cannot be junked entirely in fighting violent drug traffickers. But the experiences of other countries have shown that human rights also cannot be overlooked, especially in dealing with drug abusers.

Guterres is not the first former head of state to emphasize that the drug problem cannot be licked mainly by executing drug suspects. Last February, former Colombian president Cesar Gaviria wrote in an opinion piece that force alone could not win the drug war. Gaviria, whose country is the world’s top exporter of cocaine, also noted that he was seeing his mistakes being repeated by President Duterte in the war on drugs.

Duterte responded by calling Gaviria an “idiot.” Guterres has a gentler reminder to the international community, especially in dealing with drug abusers. The UN chief has some measure of success to back his argument.