*Vow to support international co-operation for peace, stability and human prosperity
Qatar has reiterated its commitment to support international co-operation in the interest of achieving peace, stability and prosperity for humanity, employing education in the face of extremism and terrorism and assisting countries in implementing strategies to prevent all forms of cross-border crime.
This was announced in a statement delivered by HE Sheikh Ali bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to Austria and Qatar’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Organisations in Vienna, in his capacity as representative of the Doha World Declaration Committee, at the Consultative Meeting of the Experts of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unescso), currently in session in Paris.
“The World Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, including the Education for All initiative, is among the outstanding efforts of Qatar to combat crime, terrorism, extremism, corruption and other related crimes,” he said while noting that more than 120 countries have so far benefited from the activities of this programme.
HE Sheikh Ali stressed that the Education for Global Citizenship initiative, which Unesco experts are currently considering in Paris, should be based on providing primary and secondary teachers with mechanisms to support the principles of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in all areas, particularly in the prevention of terrorism and extremism, with a view to achieving a culture of peace, tolerance and protection from extremism, violence and terrorism in full respect for cultural diversity.
“Qatar has decided to build on the success achieved by the 13th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice held in Doha in 2015 by launching an ambitious programme to make the Doha Declaration a reality through co-operation with the United Nations Office in Vienna on drugs and crime,” the ambassador said.
He assessed the outcome of the Congress, which had been adopted unanimously, in particular the integration of crime prevention and social justice on the wider United Nations agenda to address social and economic challenges and strengthening the rule of law.
HE Sheikh Ali reviewed the four pillars of the Doha Declaration, namely, enhancing the role of the law through educational activities to prevent crime and achieving justice through addressing corruption in public institutions. He said that the largest project in this framework will be launched by the United Nations next month in Vienna as "the integrity of the global judiciary."
He also touched on the third pillar on the rehabilitation of prisoners through the implementation of various constructive activities in prisons, including education, vocational training and programmes of work, in addition to the fourth pillar related to the issue of using sport in crime prevention through the support of positive practices for young people.
Soo-Hyang Choi, director of the Division of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development of Unesco, praised Qatar's contributions to support the organisation's projects and activities and the progress made in the projects of the World Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration, funded by Qatar, and benefits more than 100 countries, mostly from the developing and least developed countries, the statement added.
