The Pompidou Group, represented by its Executive Secretary Denis Huber, participated in the side-event "Drug policy and the sustainable development agenda: challenges and opportunities in the European region", organized by the Global Commission on drug policies, in the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Regional Forum, on 21 and 22 March 2019 in Geneva. The aim of the forum was to present and discuss opportunities and challenges of aligning drug control policies with the commitments made within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework, and specifically in the European context. Challenges, such as ending poverty among those most vulnerable within the illegal drug market and reforming punitive drug policies to promote accountability and fair access to justice, were touched upon at the side-event.

The Executive Secretary also addressed participants of the European Symposium “Low Risk Drug Consumption Rooms in Europe: Assessment and Prospects” at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on 3 April 2019, speaking about the need to place human rights at the heart of drug policies. On this occasion, many institutional representatives and associations, including Ithaque, the Strasbourg-based association that initiated the conference, shared their research results and experiences relating to Low Risk Drug Consumption Rooms (DCR). Analysing cases from Strasbourg to Barcelona, through Brussels and Ljubljana, to Marseille and Athens, this event has provided a real-time overview of the current state of DCR in Europe, the keys to success and the main obstacles to implementing a DCR, but also the prejudices still too often associated with this care system. It was also an opportunity to offer innovative perspectives and debate with those present on topics such as "Drug users, local residents, citizens: how to live together?".

Participation in these two events contributed to increasing the visibility of the Pompidou Group as a multidisciplinary drug policy platform in the European arena, as well as emphasizing its commitment to bringing human rights to the forefront of drug policy.