Joint Statement: End Capital Punishment for Drug Offences and Recognise Trafficked Victims in ASEAN
We, the undersigned organisations, wish to commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking and the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture by echoing the call to action by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It is time for ASEAN member states to break the cycle and prioritise challenging and eliminating transnational organised crime in their drug policies.
ASEAN remains one of the most prolific regions in the world for the death penalty for drug offences. The death penalty remains one of the key elements in state policy for tackling drug trafficking in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei Darussalam and Lao PDR. Harm Reduction International’s report in 2024 indicates Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam as high application countries; Lao PDR and Thailand as low application countries; while Brunei and Myanmar symbolically maintain the death penalty for drug offences¹.
This persistent use of capital punishment for drug offences violates international legal norms. The death penalty fails to meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” as defined by international law, and its continued application for drug-related offences contravenes international human rights standards².
Past Parliament debates in Malaysia pointed towards the death penalty as disproportionately impacting drug couriers who, more often than not, have very little discretion or autonomy in drug trafficking³.
In addition to the established knowledge of drug couriers, the new examinations of past convictions of drug couriers in the region indicate significant trends and intersections between human and drug trafficking across the region. Mary Jane Veloso⁴, a Filipina national who served more than 10 years on death row in Indonesia before her repatriation, was merely the tip of the iceberg. Investigations in Malaysia by HAYAT have documented numerous cases involving victims from Indonesia, the Philippines, Nigeria, and Iran who were deceived, coerced, or forced into drug courier roles. Some of these cases have set legal precedents in recognising trafficking victims within drug control frameworks, raising serious questions about the legitimacy and effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent.
Despite a Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) framework within ASEAN, the primacy of the non-interference principle has significantly hampered cross-border cooperation. In Malaysia, official data reveal only two documented MLA requests from neighbouring countries over the past decade⁵. This underutilisation reflects a broader dysfunction: while organised crime syndicates operate transnationally, ASEAN’s legal systems remain fragmented and siloed.
Critically, many ASEAN states have yet to operationalise the non-punishment principle, a core provision under the Palermo Protocol and other international instruments, which protects trafficking victims from prosecution for acts committed as a direct result of their exploitation. In practice, victims continue to be sentenced to death, further entrenching syndicate impunity while punishing those least responsible.
A just and effective response to drug trafficking must place human rights, victim protection, and international cooperation at its core. We call on ASEAN member states to:
Introduce an immediate moratorium on executions with a view towards complete abolition of the death penalty, particularly for drug-related offences.
Strengthen the Mutual Legal Assistance mechanism and commit to joint investigations into transnational drug trafficking networks.
Conduct systematic, state-level data collection on transnational drug trafficking, including the involvement of trafficking victims.
Develop and adopt regional guidelines for the identification and legal recognition of victims of human trafficking coerced into criminal activities, including drug trafficking.
Endorsed by:
HAYAT
Greater Equitable Measures (GEM)
Pride Borneo
JEJAKA
IMAN Research
Malaysian Substance Abuse Council (MASAC)
Pusat KOMAS
Justice for Sisters
Pertubuhan Keluarga Kasih (KeKasih)
MANDIRI
KUZA TRUST, East Africa
Lembaga Bantuan Hukum Masyarakat, Indonesia
NoBox Philippines
StoptheDrugWar.org, United States
Escola Livre de Redução de Danos, Brazil
No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ)
Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW)
¹ “The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2024” (Harm Reduction International, March 2025) <https://hri.global/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/HRI-GlobalOverview-2024-FINAL.pdf> accessed 23 June 2025
² 1984/50 Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty <https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CCPCJ/Crime_Resolutions/1980-1989/1984/ECOSOC_Resolution_1984-50.pdf> accessed 23 June 2025
³ Page 52 Hansard, 22 November 2021 <https://www.parlimen.gov.my/files/hindex/pdf/DR-22112021.pdf#page=52&zoom=100&search=keldai%20dadah> accessed 24 June 2025
⁴ “Filipina spared from execution in Indonesia returns home after 14 years on death row” (CNN, 18 December 2024) <https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/18/asia/philippines-mary-jane-veloso-returned-intl-hnk> accessed 23 June 2025
⁵ Parliament Answer, Question No. 43, 12 December 2024, 15th Parliament of Malaysia, 3rd Meeting, 3rd Session
