Press Release
UNODC Donor Briefing
Kabul, Afghanistan - 11 th May 2016
UNODC's held its six-monthly Donor Briefing on Wednesday 11 th May at the European Union's Delegation in Kabul, Afghanistan with attendance by representatives from Australian, British, Chinese, European, Finnish, French, Japanese, Norwegian, and U.A.E. embassies.
UNODC's Regional Representative for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries Mr. Andrey Avetisyan and Senior Programme Coordinator of the Regional Programme Mr. Jeremy Milsom presented key highlights from the new Country Programme for Afghanistan and Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries - both of which cover 2016 - 2019.
Key highlights outlined included the strong support and commitment from the Government of Afghanistan and other Governments of the region to UNODC's plans to build on previous successes in tackling the illicit cultivation, production and trafficking of drugs and related development, security and socio-economic harm.
The focus of the new Country and Regional Programmes will be on law enforcement capacity building and joint operations, the promotion of cooperation in criminal matters, provision of drug demand reduction and treatment services, research and trend analysis of the illicit drug trade, related illicit financial flows and organized crime in areas such as the smuggling of migrants, as well as high-level policy dialogue to promote regional cooperation and confidence building.
The briefing outlined the importance of continued support of the international community to UNODC's efforts to counter narcotics in Afghanistan, the region and beyond. Attendees were presented with brochures that outlined core elements of the new Country and Regional Programmes as well as a Good News / Impact document detailing key achievements of UNODC's work in the region in recent years. These documents can be accessed at:
http://www.unodc.org/afghanistan/index.html?ref=menutop
The new Country Programme for Afghanistan was officially launched on the margins of the High-Level Meeting of Partners of Afghanistan that took place in Vienna, Austria in mid-December 2015. The new Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries will be launched in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyz Republic on the 31 st of May 2016.
For further details of UNODC's work in Afghanistan and the region, kindly contact:
rpwca@unodc.org / +93 (0) 793 422 242
fo.afghanistan@unodc.org / +93 (0) 796 728 167
UNODC Regional Programme for Afghanistan and Neighbouring Countries, Kabul Afghanistan
Email: rpwca@unodc.org
Telephone: 0093 (0) 793 422 242
Website: www.unodc.org/rpanc/