LAS, UNODC Ink Regional Framework for Arab States

In a collaboration between the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the “Arab Plan for Prevention and Reduction of the Dangers of Drugs to Arab Society: Towards Effective Handling of the Issue from a Social Perspective” was launched Sunday the 26th of March at the LAS Headquarters. 

The “Regional Framework for the Arab States (2023 – 2028)” was also inked by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of LAS and H.E Ms. Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director.

The signature of the Framework and the launch of the Plan were attended by H. E. Ms. Nivine El Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity of the Arab Republic of Egypt and Permanent Member of the Executive Office of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, H. E. Maryam Bint Nasser Al-Misned, Minister of Social Development the State of Qatar and Chair of the 42nd session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, and with the presence of the Permanent Member States’ Ambassadors at LAS, a number of Ambassadors of different countries, in addition to Heads and Representatives of United Nations bodies and agencies.

The Regional Framework for the Arab States 2023-2028 acts as the overarching strategic framework for cooperation between UNODC and LAS. It frames how UNODC will strengthen, prioritize, customize, and deliver support to the Arab region in an effective response to some of the most pressing challenges faced by these countries and in connection with UNODC’s mandates and specialties.

It also applies six key accelerators across all programmatic interventions to speed up progress and maximize efforts towards fast-tracking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They are partnerships, women and girls, innovation, science, and forensics, human rights, youth and children, and inclusive and people-centred programming.

The programme will also support UNODC’s partnership expansion with Member States in the region to include current vital Ministries and Institutions relevant to youth, solidarity, education, culture, human rights, countering corruption; in addition to previous partnerships with the Ministries of Justice, Interior, and Health.

The event also saw the launch of the Arab Plan for Prevention and Reduction of the Dangers of Drugs to Arab Society: Towards Effective Handling of the Issue from a Social Perspective. 

The important plan represents a regional social framework for combating drugs in the Arab States by highlighting the social dimension of drug demand reduction in the context of its negative impact on social development in specific and sustainable development in general.

This is also at the heart of efforts to achieve the Arab Declaration adopted by LAS in 2016 to implement the Sustainable Development Agenda 2023.