H E Major General Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal, Advisor to H E the Minister of Interior and Head of the Follow-up Committee for the Global Program for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration
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, was awarded the United Nations SecretaryGeneral 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, UN Secretary-General H E 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 SecretaryGeneral 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”
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.
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.
H E Major General Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Al Mal, Advisor to H E 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 Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad AlThani, 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.
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
