Qatari prince wins certificate of honour from UN anti-drugs office

Qatar’s Crown Prince, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, today received an award from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for his efforts to encourage young people to turn away from narcotics and achieve their full potential through sport.

Announcing the Certificate of Honour at UN Headquarters in New York, UNODC Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa commended the Crown Prince for setting up the Doha-based Global Sport Fund.

The Fund’s aim is to try to develop character, instil leadership and tolerance, and teach healthy lifestyles to young people, especially from countries that have recently experienced conflicts or other crises.

Qatar set up the Fund in 2005 to build on existing but under-resourced UNODC programmes to run camps where children from all parts of the world can mix together in teams and play sport.

This year the Fund is supporting seven youth camps and five grants to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa, West Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Central Europe. In October, boys and girls from seven Middle Eastern countries played football together at a camp in Jounieh, Lebanon.