H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, met today with Ghada Waly, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), on the sidelines of the World Government Summit 2023 held in Dubai.

They discussed the launch of a global initiative led by the UAE, in partnership with UNODC and their international partners, aiming to raise awareness and build the capacity of law enforcement forces and to create a global research capacity on addressing crimes that affect the environment.

As part of its continuous endeavour, the UAE has been working on enhancing international cooperation in the areas of raising community awareness and introducing environmental issues leading to climate change. The country's efforts will culminate in hosting the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) later this year, as the UAE is committed to bringing together and unifying the efforts of emerging economies, developed countries and community organisations, the civil and private sector in order to find appropriate solutions and achieve the required change.

During the meeting, Sheikh Saif and Waly discussed aspects and ways to strengthen the long-term partnership between the UAE and UNODC, especially in the areas of security, protection and resilience of societies, and to enhance awareness and frameworks in relation to the role of the law enforcement and criminal justice sectors in the global response to crimes against the environment.

They decided to launch an international initiative to facilitate global dialogue and develop evidence-based knowledge products, services and tools to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the work of the law enforcement community worldwide in this area.

Furthermore, Lt. Gen. H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed mentioned that the UAE, with the vision of its wise leadership, is keen to adopt policies and initiatives that enhance international efforts by participating in the development and application of innovative solutions to protect the environment and ensure its sustainability.

“The UAE is committed to its active global role in promoting environmental awareness and contributing to mitigating the impact of climate change in order to protect our environment for the today’s generation and the future’s,” he said, stressing that the UAE's efforts are continuous and through preventive and procedural measures to preserve the natural environment and protect it from all forms of dangers arising from human activities locally and globally, adding that we are all partners in this world and work together for a better future for humanity.

The new initiative will enhance the capabilities and capacities of the criminal justice sector and law enforcement authorities in different countries to protect the environment, address biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate-related challenges. The initiative equally seeks to raise awareness of and address challenges arising from climate change and their impact on security, stability and crime patterns around the world. As a first step, the UAE will take the lead with UNODC in establishing a global expert working group that involves all international partners.

Ghada Waly stated, “Against rapidly evolving environmental backdrop worldwide, we need to shed further light on the reality of climate change within the global law enforcement community, despite the progress made in raising awareness around the issue. To that end, the global expert working group, which will be established with our long-standing partners at the UAE’s Ministry of Interior, will present global guidelines on the role of law enforcement and criminal justice sectors in combating crimes that affect the environment. The group will comprise experts and various high-level global stakeholders – such as the United Nations Environment Programme, the Environmental Unit of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the Environmental Emergencies Centre, non-governmental organisations, and other intergovernmental organisations as well as countries from around the world.”

The UAE and UNODC have a long-standing strategic partnership on supporting the global fight against illicit drugs and crime at large, spearheaded on each side by the International Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Interior and the UNODC Office for the GCC Region generously hosted by the UAE in Abu Dhabi.

The initiative will benefit from UNODC’s vast expertise built through the Global Programme on Crimes that Affect the Environment, through which UNODC assists Member States to prevent and respond to crimes such as wildlife and forest crime, crimes in the fisheries sector, illegal mining, and trafficking in precious metals and waste.