Thorvald Stoltenberg is a member of The Global Commission on Drug Policy.
The purpose of The Global Commission on Drug Policy is to bring to the international level an informed, science-based discussion about humane and effective ways to reduce the harm caused by drugs to people and societies.
Persuaded that the association between drug trade, violence and corruption was a threat to democracy in Latin America, the Commission reviewed the current ‘war on drugs’ policies and opened a public debate about an issue that tends to be surrounded by fear and misinformation.
Thorvald Stoltenberg (Oslo, 1931) is one of the most respected politicians in Norway. He has been Defense- and Foreign minister of Norway, Ambassador to the United Nations, UN head representative mediator to Balkan from 93 – 96, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ambassador to Denmark and President of the Norwegian Red Cross. For the five Nordic Government’s he made a report in 2009 with proposals for closer foreign and security policy cooperation between the Nordic countries.
At the request of the Norwegian Minister of Health, he became chairman of an advisory committee on drug policy reform in 2009. The report on narcotics (Rapport om narkotika) of the Stoltenberg Committee, published in June 2010, caused a small landslide in the Norwegian debate on drugs. It pleaded for a test period for heroin provision and a holistic approach to drugs, in which respect for users and their families was the focus. In the introduction Stoltenberg writes: ‘Our report is about hope. Hope is almost as important as life – without hope we never achieve our goals.’
In 2011, Stoltenberg took a seat in the Global Commission on Drug Policy, with other prominent figures such as Kofi Annan, former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz, former presidents Zedillo (Mexico), Cardoso (Brazil) and Gaviria (Colombia) and the British entrepreneur Richard Branson. On June second 2011, the commission presented its historic report in New York on a ceremony attended by Stoltenberg.
