CCPCJ 2026 — Best Interest of the Child
Parents Who Use Drugs: Incarceration, Family Separation, and the Best Interest of the Child in Drug Policy.
For the 35th session of the CCPCJ, Ágora is organizing a side event examining how drug criminalization policies impact families — particularly how the incarceration of parents for drug offenses violates the best interest of the child principle enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Issue
When parents are incarcerated for drug offenses — often non-violent possession or low-level dealing driven by poverty — their children suffer devastating consequences. These "invisible victims" of drug policy face family separation, economic hardship, stigma, psychological trauma, and increased vulnerability to exploitation.
Scale of the Problem
Millions of children worldwide have a parent incarcerated for drug offenses. In Latin America, drug laws are the leading cause of women's incarceration, leaving children without primary caregivers.
Gendered Impact
Women imprisoned for drug offenses are overwhelmingly mothers, often sole caregivers. Their incarceration has cascading effects on children, families, and communities that far exceed the original offense.
Intergenerational Cycle
Children of incarcerated parents face higher risks of poverty, school dropout, mental health challenges, and eventual involvement in the criminal justice system — perpetuating cycles of disadvantage.
Legal Framework
The CRC's "best interest of the child" principle requires that children's welfare be a primary consideration in all state actions — including sentencing decisions for their parents.
Event Objectives
- Visibility: Make visible the hidden victims of drug criminalization — the children left behind when parents are imprisoned
- Legal Analysis: Examine how current drug sentencing practices violate international children's rights standards
- Alternatives: Present evidence-based alternatives to incarceration that keep families together while addressing substance use
- Policy Reform: Develop concrete recommendations for integrating child impact assessments into drug sentencing guidelines
- Lived Experience: Center the voices of affected families in policy discussions
Proposed Recommendations
Watch the Full Event
Full Event Transcript
Excellencies, distinguished delegates, colleagues, and friends: good afternoon to those joining us in Europe, and good morning to our participants joining from the Americas. My name is Jorge, and here we are at the side event for the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, organized by Agora in close collaboration with the International Network of People Who Use Drugs (INPUD), the International Coalition for Children of Incarcerated Parents, and the International Center for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy.
Our discussion today addresses a critical, yet frequently overlooked, dimension of international legal compliance: the alignment of domestic drug policies with the international rights of the child. The judicial and penal systems often operate under a paradigm that equates parental drug use with inherent child endangerment. This structural assumption frequently leads to the removal of children from their homes, particularly within marginalized communities.
Anton Basen (Executive Director, INPUD)Hello everyone. I represent the only global network of people who use drugs, which unites eight regional networks across the globe. I was a founding member of the Ukrainian Network of People Who Use Drugs. One of their strategic issues — common for many post-Soviet countries with similar repressive drug policy frameworks — is systemic human rights violations.
In Ukraine, enrollment in an opioid agonist therapy program requires an official diagnosis of opioid drug dependence. However, this medical diagnosis becomes a permanent track record with authorities. According to Article 164 of the Family Code of Ukraine, parental rights deprivation can occur simply because this diagnosis exists — regardless of how well the parent treats or cares for their child. Almost 30,000 patients in Ukraine are automatically at risk of being deprived of their parental rights if they have children.
A person can use medication, have the same quality of life as anyone else, and be a good parent; the diagnosis itself shouldn't matter. We are trying to advocate to change these things, but it requires changing not just the legal act, but the full paradigm of thinking among decision-makers.
Megan (Keynote Speaker, International Coalition for Children of Incarcerated Parents)I would like to begin by situating this conversation not only in policy, but in deep consideration for the lived experiences of the children we are discussing today. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, an estimated 1.7 to 2.3 million children have a parent in prison, with nearly half a million affected specifically by drug-related incarceration. Despite this scale, these children remain largely invisible in policy design and criminal justice decision-making.
Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Article 3 establishes that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration; Article 9 provides that children shall not be separated from their parents against their will except when strictly necessary; Article 12 affirms that children have the right to express their views freely in all matters affecting them.
A central issue is the persistent view that parental involvement with drugs constitutes an inherent risk to children. Stigma surrounding substance use shapes institutional responses, reinforcing decisions that prioritize family separation rather than support. Family separation is frequently treated as automatic rather than exceptional, standing in direct tension with Article 9.
Women are regularly imprisoned for low-level drug offenses and are often primary caregivers or single mothers. Between 35% and 70% of women in prison in Latin America are incarcerated for drug offenses. There is limited evidence that incarcerating low-level actors disrupts organized crime, while the rights costs for children and families are significant.
Our collective challenge is not a lack of solutions, but rather the political will to scale and sustain approaches that protect children's rights while promoting justice, health, and social stability.
How can international frameworks be better leveraged to shift national sentencing trends toward alternative measures that safeguard family cohesion?
MeganIt's important to distinguish between the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is legally binding and gives advocates teeth in holding states accountable, and other frameworks. Another fantastic framework is the Bangkok Rules, which promotes non-custodial measures for women but is not legally binding. Globally, women who begin a pathway toward criminal behavior are often already experiencing significant trauma or a need for social support.
JorgeWhat are the primary institutional barriers preventing criminal courts from actively centering the best interests of the child during adult criminal proceedings?
MeganOne primary issue is making sure mothers feel safe to disclose that they even have children, because there is so much stigma and fear around separation. To mitigate this, we piloted a "Child Impact Statement" — a simple document where parents can fill out information about their child's routine and how their incarceration will disrupt it. In one successful case, a judge used this information to issue a non-custodial sentence. Because it is in the pilot phase, it is currently optional, but the fact that a defendant received a non-custodial sentence is an indicator of real success that could be scaled up.
Carmen (Audience Member, Bolivia)In Bolivia, which is a major center for coca production, many people involved in the business just to make extra cash are not drug consumers themselves, but when caught, they end up in jail. The judicial system is ineffective and takes years to have a hearing. Because their wives cannot sustain themselves outside, they end up living in jail with them and taking the kids. The kids leave the jail in the morning to go to school and return at noon. It's sad, but the jail provides necessary measures so the kids can be safe.
MeganRegarding children living in prison with their parents — the global debate looks at the tension: a child should not be living in a prison, but separating them causes deep attachment issues. There is a Global Prison Nursery Network that looks at this in depth. The challenge is that effectiveness is rarely evaluated. There are just so many periphery considerations we don't think of when we have a simple conversation around drug policy and incarceration.
Jorge (Closing)Today's dialogue reminds us that reforming drug policy is an essential human rights obligation that directly determines the well-being and safety of the next generation. Centering the best interests of the child requires a courageous departure from punitive paradigms toward evidence-based, compassionate, and restorative frameworks. Thank you to all participants for your collaboration.