UNODC’s capacity-building trainings provided essential skills to law enforcement officers from Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, focusing on investigating financial flows linked to wildlife and forest crimes. The trainings promoted hands-on learning, strengthening cross-border cooperation and empowering officials to conduct more effective, accountable investigations.
Through a UNODC and Maldives National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC) initiative, 40 participants gained key skills to enhance government, law enforcement, and community efforts in preventing violent extremism. The focus was on strengthening resilience, implementing early response mechanisms, and fostering trust-based partnerships, marking a vital step toward a more inclusive and effective national prevention strategy.
The Asia Regional Civil Society Network (NET4U) was launched as a key outcome of a UNODC capacity-building workshop in Malaysia, bringing together over 50 stakeholders representing civil society, academia and the private sector from South and Southeast Asia. Through hands-on sessions and group exercises, participants learned new and strengthened existing skills to advocate for change, refine their strategies, and collaborate across borders. This new UNODC-supported platform will enhance civil society engagement in implementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), fostering knowledge-sharing and coordinated action.
A UNODC and Judicial Administration Training Institute (JATI) training in Dhaka equipped 30 criminal justice professionals with tools to implement Non-Custodial Measures. Participants focused on reducing prison overcrowding, improving rehabilitation, and facilitating reintegration, recognizing the need for reform while addressing public perception concerns.
In 2024, UNODC’s RiseUp4Peace initiative engaged and empowered over 6,800 educators and 27,000 students across 14 states/UTs, equipping them with knowledge and skills to promote a culture of peace, lawfulness, inclusion and integrity through education. he initiative integrated SDG16 themes into classrooms—including disability inclusion, drug use prevention, cyber safety, anti-bullying and gender equality, among others—while enabling hands-on student engagement, school-led programs, and knowledge-sharing on India's National Education Policy 2020. It also documented educators’ perspectives on emerging vulnerabilities and highlighted promising practices and impact stories.
Our activities in South Asia are possible
due to the generous support of:
Canada
European Union
Germany
India
Japan
Joint UN Program Fund
Norway
Sweden
Portugal
United Kingdom
United States of America
UBRAF/UNAIDS
Government Partners:
Bangladesh
Bhutan
India
Maldives
Nepal
Sri Lanka
Call for Partnerships:
Impacting Lives with Innovation
Advancing Crime Prevention, Justice and Health in South AsiaUNODC Regional Office for South Asia has developed a wide range of projects and initiatives on the following thematic areas:
-Building law enforcement capacities against drugs and organised crime
-Addressing drug use and HIV/AIDS -Enhancing multi-stakeholder responses to counter Trafficking in Persons -Engaging young people and educators on crime prevention, integrity, Global Goals and peace with educational interventions
-Promoting family skills to reduce risky behaviours among young people -Countering corruption -Addressing Gender-based Violence
-Strengthening responses to prevent and counter wildlife crime
-Countering cybercrime and promoting online safety
We seek activesupport to enable the implementation of these programs and to scale-up efforts to promote security, justice and health among vulnerable groups in South Asia. Our partnerships aim at building national and regional alliances on our mandates, which are closely linked to national, regional and global priorities as well as the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals. Let's join hands to enable and aid large-scale and impactful initiatives that help people lead safer and healthier lives . Your support can make all the difference!
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) assists Member States in their efforts to combat illicit drugs and international crime. Over the past two decades, the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia(ROSA) has been working with governments and civil society in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka, providing specialized assistance to address challenges pertaining to drugs, organised crime, security, justice and health. The commitment to Sustainable Development Goals, human rights and the rule of law is at the core of our mandate.
Contact Us
C-97 (Ground Floor), Defence Colony, New Delhi-110024, India
Email: samarth.pathak@un.org
