New York, March 27 (QNA) - The "Education for Justice" initiative of the Global Program of the Doha Declaration issued by the Thirteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice 2015 and funded by the State of Qatar, awarded the United Nations Secretary-General 2020 Innovation Award.

The Global Program of the Doha Declaration, implemented by the Vienna-based United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), includes four main areas: judicial integrity, education for justice, protection of youth from crime through sport, and the rehabilitation of prisoners.

The "Education for Justice" initiative aims to prevent crime and establish a culture of lawfulness through educational activities specifically designed for the primary, secondary and university levels of education.

The initiative was chosen to receive the award from among 194 projects submitted by 52 organs of the United Nations. It is the first time that a project of the UNODC received a high award of this kind due to its dimensions and implications at the global level and its achievement of impressive results despite difficult conditions caused by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In a video message sent to the United Nations Office in Vienna, HE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his sincere appreciation and gratitude for the generous contributions made by the State of Qatar to implement what was stated in the global program of the Doha Declaration.

He said that he and Executive Director of the UNODC Ghada Waly were looking forward to moving together towards a new generation of initiatives based on this successful experience.

UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly said the award granted by the UN Secretary-General to the "Education for Justice" initiative as one of the components of the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration is a "welcome recognition of UNODC's capabilities and the potential to innovate within our mandates as we contribute to UN system-wide support to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals".

She pointed out that the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration is distinguished by its comprehensive approach that focuses on people in general, aiming to address many interrelated challenges facing the rule of law.

She added that this program was built on the experiences of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime around the world, and on its wide field presence to provide assistance at the time and place required, with the office's focus on the property rights of states, in order to move forward towards inclusive and resilient societies, and to enhance access to justice with integrity and accountability.

Director, Division for Treaty Affairs, UNODC, John Brandolino said Innovation Award is awarded every year for distinguished work carried out by one of the United Nations agencies, which contributes to the creation of promising prospects that have a great impact that unlocks potentials for creativity."

In his e-mail message addressed to the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations and international organizations in Vienna, Brandolino added that HE UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres chose the "Education for Justice" initiative from among 194 projects submitted by 52 organs of the United Nations from 44 UN organization's work sites for the 2020 award.

Brandolino thanked the State of Qatar for its commitment and support to the United Nations Office in Vienna over the past years, looking forward to strengthening the strategic partnership with it through the continuation of consultations on initiatives that fall within the basic issues of the rule of law and develop and support youth empowerment and inspire others to take the initiative.

He pointed out that the tradition followed during the past years is based on arranging a ceremony at the headquarters of the United Nations to present the award, but because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Secretary-General only sent a video message to the United Nations Office in Vienna informing them of this honor, and also instructing the use of the certificate in any of a future indication of the achievements of the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration.

HE Chief of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Brigitte Strobel-Shaw affirmed that the United Nations Office, through the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, provided values-based education and professional training for people around the world to become activists in support of the rule of law and the achievement of justice for all.

HE Major General Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal, Advisor to HE the Minister of Interior and Head of the Follow-up Committee for the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, said that the great successes achieved by the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration were behind the "Education for Justice" initiative, which is a major component of this program, receiving the UN Secretary-General 2020 Innovation Award, granted each year for outstanding work.

He added that the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration reflected the wisdom and foresight of the country's political leadership under HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and the State of Qatar's belief in pluralism in international work, and its endeavor to convert international political commitments into projects on the ground.

After the impressive success of the Thirteenth Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that was held in Doha in April 2015, and the issuance of its political declaration, the Doha Declaration, HH the Amir ordered the funding of an international program to implement the Doha Declaration in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with the aim of assisting countries, in particular developing countries, in addressing organized crime, corruption, drugs and terrorism, and building solid and transparent criminal justice systems, he said.

His Excellency affirmed that the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, which was implemented during the years 2016-2020, is the first program adopted by the host country of the Crime Prevention Conference to convert the political declaration into projects on the ground.

He also noted that this international program is the largest program funded by one state in the history of the United Nations Office in Vienna, with the distinction of being multidisciplinary, and its four components are closely related to each other, namely, judicial integrity, education for justice, and crime prevention among young people through sports and the rehabilitation of prisoners.

The latest UN statistics reveal that two and a half million people from 190 countries have benefited from the activities of the Global Program, while its educational materials have reached more than 1.4 million students.

More than 170,000 people from 187 countries benefited from direct capacity building activities of the program, while more than 11,000 young people were trained on crime prevention through sport, and more than 1,500 judges and public prosecutors were trained on issues of judicial integrity, as well as a global network for judicial integrity was launched, and 55 training sites on tools for judicial integrity ethics were set up.

HE Major General Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal affirmed that the program has proven successful in implementing its projects over the past years, especially in developing the work mechanisms of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, capacity development and training processes within a multi-dimensional strategy.

He explained that this strategy was directed towards making a long-term impact in combating crime, consolidating the rule of law, enhancing the preparedness and effectiveness of member states to address transnational organized crime, drugs, corruption and terrorism, developing criminal justice institutions as well as the program's role in using education in order to prevent crime, raise public awareness of its risks and enhance the integrity of the judiciary.

In a related context, His Excellency drew attention to the wide international attention accorded to the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration during the Fourteenth Kyoto Conference on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice that was held earlier this month. He said the Kyoto conference drew a new roadmap that was built on the Doha International Declaration and announcements of previous conferences to strengthen the efforts of the international community in combating organized crime and building fair criminal justice systems.

He added that the Doha Declaration Program has become a pioneering model to be emulated in providing support to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in order to assist countries, especially developing ones, in addressing organized crime, corruption, drugs and terrorism, and in building solid criminal justice systems and contributing to the implementation of the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He stressed that despite the difficulties caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, the Fourteenth Conference was able to combine realistic and virtual participation in events, and adopted the "Kyoto Declaration", which laid the foundation for strengthening partnerships between the various components of the international community to achieve sustainable development and build a more just world, in a way that supports the achievement of the goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (QNA)