UN Drugs and Crime Office partners with Dubai to tackle trafficking and abuse

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Dubai Police today signed a project to tackle drug abuse and illicit trafficking in the United Arab Emirates and regionally.

“Through this project it is envisaged that the Dubai police will have a leading role in reversing increased drug trafficking and drug abuse among young people in the UAE and other States of the region,” said UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa, who endorsed the pact along with Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim.

UNODC will help upgrade the Dubai Police Training Centre into a “centre of excellence” for the region-wide transfer of knowledge and the training of law enforcement staff to ensure they have the skills needed to cope with an increased influx of narcotic drugs, the Vienna-based agency said in a news release.

The $1.2 million project, fully funded by the Dubai police, will last for two and a half years, starting in April.

As part of the project, UNODC will assist Dubai and the UAE as a whole in developing a coordinated national action plan on drug demand reduction. The Office will also help develop and implement national drug abuse and HIV/AIDS prevention modules for schools and universities to address young people in a way that suits the culture of the Gulf region.

“Today’s signing should be seen in the context of an ever-strengthening relationship and engagement between UNODC and the UAE,” Mr. Costa said, voicing appreciation for the “generous support” the country has provided to the agency.