The State of Qatar affirmed that the drug problem takes on international and regional dimensions affecting all sectors and areas of life, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation in the field of development, prevention and protection of Arab peoples from threats, including drug and addiction issues.
This came in a speech delivered by Her Excellency Mrs. Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misned, Minister of Social Development and Family, Chair of the forty-second session of the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, during a meeting held today at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to sign the Regional Framework Program for Arab Countries 2023. – 2028, between the League of Arab States and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime"As well as the launch of the Arab plan for the prevention and reduction of drug dangers to the Arab community under the title "Towards successful dealing with the issue from a social perspective". Her Excellency said:"We in the State of Qatar lead the global program for the implementation of the Doha Declaration, which is funded by Qatar, and we work through our national centers, including the Center "to support" Behavioral health focuses on the prevention of youth and those susceptible to addiction, in addition to providing treatment and rehabilitation services and conducting survey research on the community.". It also noted that the center "We save" It is the first in the world in terms of integrated health and psychological care systems with international standards concerned with drug addicts and those recovering from them, and those who suffer from the effects of dependence on narcotic substances, pointing out that drugs are a crime that crosses borders and continents, due to scientific progress in means of communication and transportation, which led to its rapid spread between countries, with criminal gangs exploiting these advantages to devise new methods of selling and promotion. She added that United Nations reports link the high rates of drug prevalence with the increase in diseases and the spread of crime, while international estimates indicate a significant increase in drug abuse globally, noting that addressing the drug problem is a general multilateral responsibility borne by all countries, which calls for supporting political and diplomatic efforts with measures. Quick on the ground to keep pace with the rapid spread of drugs and their new promotion tools, with the aim of protecting children and youth in the educational, entertainment and electronic circles, and reaching drug-free societies. And she continued:" The accumulation of political, economic and social challenges should not keep us away from our common goal, which is to fully achieve the goals of the three drug agreements and the ministerial declarations for the years 2014, 2016 and 2019, considering drugs as a pest and a major cause of social diseases such as family rift, violence and divorce, in addition to their impact on the workforce and the level of their impact on economic production and development". In a related context, the League of Arab States stated, in a statement, that the signing of the new regional framework for Arab countries (2023-2028) and the launch of the Arab Plan for Prevention and Reduction of Drug Dangers to Arab Society come in the context of continuing close cooperation between the League of Arab States and the UN Office. United States on Drugs and Crime. The Arab League stated that the regional framework for Arab countries (2023-2028) defines a comprehensive strategic scope for cooperation between the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the League of Arab States, and lays down the foundations and elements of the technical support provided by the office to the Arab countries, as well as determines the priorities of that support and how to adapt it to the surrounding circumstances. In addition to providing an effective response to the most important current challenges within the framework of the office’s mandate and the limits of its competence. She added that this framework establishes six basic and important areas to guide the programs and projects implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime at the regional and national levels, including: adopting a balanced approach to drug control, strengthening the response to organized crime, combating trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants, and addressing corruption and financial crimes, preventing and combating terrorism and violence, promoting criminal justice and crime prevention. The Arab League pointed out that the Arab plan to prevent and reduce the dangers of drugs to Arab society, which was launched during the meeting under the title: "Towards effective dealing with the issue from a social perspective"It constitutes a regional social framework for combating drugs in the Arab countries by highlighting the social dimension related to reducing the demand for drugs in the context of its negative impact on the dimensions of social development in particular and sustainable development in general, which is considered a serious engagement in the international process related to achieving the goals of sustainable development. It is embodied in the Arab Declaration issued by the League of Arab States in 2016 to implement the 2023 Sustainable Development Plan. The Arab League added that this document presents a guiding vision to direct Arab action towards a comprehensive and integrated response based on scientific evidence, and is consistent with the Arab specificity of this phenomenon, noting that the plan It aims to build national strategies and action plans that meet national requirements, and includes a number of initiatives, projects and activities that achieve its objectives in complementarity with Arab efforts to combat the supply of drugs and psychotropic substances through comprehensive confrontation measures that include anticipation and social decisiveness. The Arab League stated that the axes presented in the plan document include a general approach to how to address this phenomenon from a social perspective, which can be implemented in Arab countries in line with their systems and conditions, leading to the implementation of effective interventions that contribute to efforts aimed at eliminating this phenomenon, including The relevant multidimensional social and development consequences, in a way that enhances the Arab efforts aimed at implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Arab League noted that this approach is based on several basic areas, all of which contribute to achieving the goals of the plan, and also represent its strategic priorities, and propose the necessary measures to put them into practice. Access, especially community prevention, rehabilitation and social integration, and treatment of drug-related harm and its repercussions, in addition to the dimensions and themes supporting the plan’s areas of work represented in international cooperation, scientific research and innovation, coordination mechanisms, governance, implementation, and impact measurement and evaluation.
