Moroccan expert Khalid Tinasti joins UN panel to reshape global drug policy
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs elected the members of an independent expert panel established under resolution 68/6 during its 69th session in Vienna. Among the 19 appointees is Moroccan expert Khalid Tinasti, 40, who will contribute to what represents the most significant review of the international drug control system since the adoption of the UN drug conventions.
Resolution 68/6, adopted in March 2025 at Colombia's initiative, marked a notable shift in the diplomatic balance in Vienna. It gives the panel a dual technical and political mandate: to identify the limitations of the current drug control regime and propose reform pathways, without dismantling the framework established by the three international drug conventions. The panel is expected to deliver concrete recommendations by 2027.
The composition of the panel reflects the ambition of the initiative. Drawn from across all continents, members bring high-level expertise in international law, security policy, and global health. Tinasti, a Casablanca native trained in Paris and now based in Geneva, represents a generation of policymakers asserting itself in multilateral forums.
Tinasti built his career across several high-profile institutions. He began at the office of France's minister for urban affairs in the Fillon government before pivoting to global policy. He spent nearly a decade leading the Global Commission on Drug Policy, which brings together 22 former heads of state including Kofi Annan, Juan Manuel Santos, and Olusegun Obasanjo, and subsequently directed the Climate Overshoot Commission chaired by Pascal Lamy. He also chaired the Programme Advisory Panel of the Robert Carr Fund, focused on HIV response for vulnerable populations, and is a member of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation's New Generation Network.
His academic output includes publications in peer-reviewed journals such as The Lancet, Addiction, and the Brown Journal of World Affairs, as well as authorship of the Research Handbook on International Drug Policy. He has taught at the Global Studies Institute of the University of Geneva, currently teaches at IHEID, and holds a David F. Musto Fellowship at Shanghai University. Opinion pieces by Tinasti appear regularly in Le Monde, Le Temps, and L'Économiste.
His appointment comes as Morocco consolidates its position as an engaged actor in international drug policy debates. The kingdom became the first country in the MENA region to adopt legislation regulating cannabis for medical and industrial use through Law 13-21, embedding its approach within international norms. Tinasti contributed to the policy discussions that accompanied that reform, offering expertise on the interpretive margins of UN conventions and participating in the national public debate. His presence on the panel reflects a broader dynamic: Morocco's ambition to help shape global policy rather than simply receive it.
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