DUSHANBE, 16 May 2019 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA), in partnership with the Government of Tajikistan, conducted the Fourth Programme Steering Committee Meeting of the UNODC Programme for Central Asia 2015-2019 with the competent authorities of Central Asian countries, the diplomatic corpus and donors to discuss the results of joint activities and plans for the future.
"Within the framework of the UNODC Programme for Central Asian States 2015-2019, the Republic of Tajikistan actively cooperates in such areas as countering transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism crime prevention and corruption; prevention of drug consumption, treatment and reintegration of drug addicts, and HIV prevention", said Mr. Sherkhon Salimzoda, Director of the Drug Control Agency under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.
"UNODC really appreciates the partnerships that we have forged in the past many years in making several advances on our joint shared vision for addressing the complexities and challenges that we face in the Central Asian region through shared responsibility and full commitment to the cause of prevention and combating of illicit drugs, crime and terrorism", said Ms. Ashita Mittal, UNODC Regional Representative UNODC) for Central Asia.
In 2018, UNODC ROCA delivered over US $ 14.5 million in technical assistance to the competent authorities of the Central Asian states and the Southern Caucasus. UNODC made a considerable contribution to the Member States' efforts to counter the threats of transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism in the region, in addition to, fostering criminal justice reform and strengthening anti-corruption measures. It had promoted evidence-based drug demand reduction and HIV prevention strategies and strengthened research and trends analysis capabilities.
"Through the Central Asian Regional Information and Coordination Centre (CARICC) and UNODC's integrated cross-border cooperation programmes we have created platforms for sharing of experiences and expertise to counter transnational organized crime. Our legal and policy advice is supporting efforts to prevent crime and promote effective, fair and humane criminal justice systems. UNODC's drug prevention programmes are increasingly being institutionalized and replicated by countries in the region", emphasized Ms. Mittal.
As the global custodian for several targets under Sustainable Development Goals, UNODC facilitated a regional workshop to provide the countries in the region with an opportunity to exchange information on the implementation of SDG 3 and 16 of the Agenda 2030.
UNODC Regional Office for Central Asia also presented its Annual Report for 2018, which covers the technical cooperation delivered in 2018 in partnership with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan as well as Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.
The purpose of the programme is to strengthen the capacity of countries and further expansion of inter-regional cooperation and covers the period from 2015 to 2019. The Programme is implemented with the financial support of the governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Qatar, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and European Union, as well as United Nations Peacebuilding Fund.
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