International Representation
ICAD, I.P. is represented/participates in the activities carried out by various international organisations, namely: European Union, United Nations Organisation, Council of Europe, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
European Union
Council of the European Union - Horizontal Drugs Group
ICAD, I.P. ensures national representation at the monthly meetings of the Horizontal Drugs Group (HDG), in close liaison with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and without prejudice to the participation of other national services, whenever necessary depending on the matters under discussion.
See the programme for Denmark's current Presidency of the Council of the European Union (July to December 2025) here.
The GHD is a working group of the Council of the European Union created in 1997, which coordinates the Council's action on drugs, playing a central role in defining, implementing and evaluating the legislation and policies adopted by the EU in the areas of drug supply reduction and demand reduction and in the cross-cutting themes of coordination, international cooperation, research, monitoring and evaluation.
EU documents on drugs:
EU Drugs Action Plan 2021-2025
Portugal held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union between January and June 2021 and ICAD held the Presidency of the Horizontal Drugs Group, with the main dossier being the drafting and negotiation of the European Union Action Plan on Drugs (2021-2025), approved on 21 June by the Council.
United Nations Organisation
World Health Organisation (WHO)
The adoption in 2010 of the Global Strategy to reduce alcohol-related harm was accompanied by the creation of a network of national counterparts on alcohol, who oversee the implementation of the Strategy in their countries, ensuring close and effective collaboration between the Member States and WHO/Europe, which meets once a year, promoting technical discussion of its implementation at the different levels. ICAD, I.P. ensures national representation at these meetings.
Portugal, through SICAD, took part in the drafting and negotiation of various WHO documents to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol, namely:
European framework for action on alcohol, 2022-2025
Decision EB146(14) Accelerating action to reduce the harmful use of alcohol (2020)
Global Strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol (2010)
WHO is an agency of the United Nations, created in 1948, which aims to promote health and quality of life worldwide and to develop activities to expand global health coverage.
United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs
ICAD, I.P. ensures participation in meetings of the United NationsCommission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), and is responsible for coordinating national participation, which includes representatives from other services with drug policy competences. Portugal has been a member of theCommission on Narcotic Drugs since 1 January 2024, for a 4-year term.
Created in 1946, it is made up of representatives from 53 member states elected by the United Nations Economic and Social Council. It is the governing body responsible for all drug-related issues, analyses the evolution of the phenomenon at a global level and adopts thematic resolutions, monitors the implementation of the three United Nations Drug Conventions(https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/commissions/CND/Mandate_Functions/conventions.html), assesses the changes to be made at international level to ensure drug control and may even propose new international conventions and instruments.
On the recommendation of the WHO and the International Narcotics Control Board (ICO), it adopts annual decisions relating to psychoactive substances and precursors that should be subject to international control.
CND documents:
Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions - Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe
The Portuguese representation at the Pompidou Group is ensured by ICAD, I.P. The functions of Permanent Correspondent and member of the Bureau are carried out by the SIRG Coordinator, who also coordinates national participation in the various activities and working groups.
The Co-operation Group on Drugs and Addictions - Pompidou Group, is a permanent body of the Council of Europe whose aim is to develop multidisciplinary co-operation on drugs and addictions policies.
Its mandate allows for the creation of synergies with partners from other countries, international organisations and civil society for the development of actions around the promotion of human rights; addressing new forms of addiction (gambling and online gambling); protecting the rights of vulnerable and at-risk groups; reducing illicit drug trafficking and preventing the diversion of precursors.
An important project of the Pompidou Group is the self-assessment tool for national policies based on human rights standards, which aims to contribute to the international discussion on the development of human rights indicators in drug policies; to analyse their impact on drug policies, as well as to provide guidance to member states on the implications of the human rights dimension in the definition and implementation of drug policies, in the light of international legal instruments.
Access the self-assessment tool for national policies based on human rights standards here.
Portuguese Presidency of the Pompidou Group (2019-2022):
Portugal chaired the Pompidou Group for the 2019-2022 quadrennium, with the priority objective of implementing the "Sustainable Drug Policies Respectful of Human Rights" work programme, adopted at the Stavanger Ministerial Conference in November 2018.
Main initiatives:
- Launch of the International Drug Policy Academy in 2020;
- Correlation Network, which gave a voice to people who use drugs, marginalised communities and health and social workers;
- Creation of the "Professionals Support Network";
- European Handbook on General Aviation;
- Publication on "Human rights and people who use drugs in 17 Mediterranean countries".
- Adoption of the new Statute which reaffirms the need for a multidisciplinary approach to tackling the drugs phenomenon, extending the Group's mandate to addictive behaviours associated with licit substances (such as alcohol and tobacco) and new forms of addiction (such as gambling and online gaming). The new official name of "Council of Europe Cooperation Group on Drugs and Addictions" was also adopted in 2021.
- The 18th Ministerial Conference, held in Lisbon on 13 and 14 December 2022, marked the end of the Portuguese presidency and saw the adoption of two programme documents that will guide the Group's activities until 2025:
- a) the new work programme for 2023-2025 "Human Rights at the heart of drug addiction policies", which will put into practice the perspectives created by the adoption of the new statute and operationalise actions around 4 priority axes: the centrality of promoting human rights in drug and addiction policies; addressing new forms of addiction; protecting the rights of vulnerable and at-risk groups and reducing illicit drug trafficking and preventing the diversion of precursors;
- b) the Lisbon Declaration, in which the Ministers identified the challenges to be faced and defined the actions to be taken, promoting synergies, with the aim of creating a significant impact on society. They also called for the exploration of strategies to tackle addictions related to the use of communication and information technologies, and reaffirmed the priority thematic areas to be developed, namely: a public health and human rights centred approach to more effective and humane responses to drugs and associated addictions and disorders; exploring strategies to address addictions related to the use of communication and information technologies, and applications; achieve greater synergy and increase the Group's relevance and visibility by participating in and contributing to activities carried out by other Council of Europe bodies, notably on issues related to health in prison, children and other vulnerable groups, the information society, money laundering and cybercrime; address human rights, gender and civil society participation as cross-cutting issues in all the Pompidou Group's activities.
Pompidou Group documents:
Risks and harms associated with online gaming and gambling
Human rights at the centre of drug policies. 50th anniversary of the Pompidou Group
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) regularly produces guidelines and comparative studies on economic, social and environmental issues and has available an online database, Health Statistics 2025 - OECD, which is the most comprehensive source of comparable health statistics across all member countries, which includes data on alcohol consumption.
The Health at a Glance 2024 report provides a comprehensive set of indicators on the health of the population and the performance of health systems in OECD members and major economies. This edition highlights digital health, which measures the digital readiness of OECD countries' health systems and describes what countries need to do to accelerate the digital health transformation.
Portugal: Country Health Profile 2023 provides a concise, policy-centred overview of Portugal's health status and health system and is part of the wider series of country health profiles from the "State of Health in the EU" initiative. This work presents a succinct analysis covering the following key aspects: the current state of health in Portugal; the determinants of health, in particular behavioural risk factors; the organisation of the Portuguese health system; and an assessment of the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of the health system, including references to alcohol and drug use. In addition, the 2023 edition features a thematic section on the state of mental health and associated services in Portugal.
The OECD is an international organisation whose activities span more than 100 countries, aiming to be a knowledge centre for data and analysis, exchanges of experiences, sharing of good practices and advice on public policies and the definition of international standards.