TEHRAN –The Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) office in Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a joint plan of action for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse among teenagers.

The joint plan of action is to be implemented over 2023-2024. It will be the main base of cooperation with UNICEF in combating narcotics.

The joint activities will be defined and carried out in cooperation with relevant national institutions, Fars reported.

Also, in the past four years through implementing two joint plans of action, some activities have been carried out for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse among adolescents.

Setting up two health and rehabilitation centers for at-risk adolescents in two provinces of the country, which are known as exemplary centers providing services to the target community, was one of the measures taken in this regard.

Previous co-op

On October 15, UNICEF and the Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters cooperated to develop an emergency protocol for staff working with at-risk adolescents to enhance their capacity for addressing youth needs during emergencies. They also held two workshops in August and September, the UNICEF website reported.

Thanks to these programs, social workers, experts, counselors, volunteers, and peers will be able to provide much more effective services in case of any emergencies to vulnerable youth, adolescents, and their families.

The aim of these workshops was to expand the technical needs of those working with vulnerable and at-risk girls to provide more efficient services to them in case of emergencies.

During the workshops, in addition to capacity building on crisis management and specialized interventions, a protocol for UNICEF-supported Adolescent Wellbeing Centers in Mashhad and Kermanshah was developed to strengthen their emergency response capacity.

In May, Eskandar Momeni, the secretary general of the Iranian anti-narcotics headquarters, said some 1,700 regional and international drug gangs were dismantled by Iran in the year 2022.

“Iran is located next to Afghanistan, the largest producer of opioids, the second largest producer of cannabis, and recently the producer of glass (methamphetamine),” he added.

Momeni made the remarks in a meeting with Iraqi Interior Minister Abdul Amir Kamel Al-Shammari on the sidelines of the first Baghdad International Drug Control Conference which was held from May 9-10.

Setting up about 800 coastal checkpoints in the Persian Gulf, strengthening and developing electronic and electro-optical equipment, and installing land-based radars and specialized cameras are among Iran's measures to deal with maritime smuggling, Momeni explained.

Momeni signed a memorandum of understanding with Ghada Fathi Waly, the director general of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the sidelines of the 66th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) that was held in Vienna from March 13-17.

The agreement opens a new chapter in Iran's cooperation with the United Nations in the four areas of dealing with the supply and demand of narcotics, and offering treatment and rehabilitation services, Momeni said, IRIB reported.

“Valuable measures to reduce the rate of infectious diseases such as HIV (AIDS) and hepatitis among addicts have been taken. Setting up healthcare, rehabilitation, and consultation centers, and empowering women and girls in cooperation with the UNODC and UNICEF offices in the cities of Tehran, Kerman, and Kermanshah were among the measures.”

In October, Iran anti-narcotics police chief, Iraj Kakavand, in a meeting with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representative in Tehran, Alexander Fedulov, called it essential to support Iran in the fight against drug trafficking.

During the meeting, Fedulov said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always been committed to a serious and decisive fight against narcotics at the regional and global level, IRIB reported.

Iran has spent a huge sum of money fighting the war on drugs, and apart from that, many anti-narcotics forces have sacrificed their lives in this way. The high number of martyrs and injured shows Iran's serious determination to deal with this scourge, the UN official added.

"Considering the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is at the forefront of the fight against drug trafficking, the UNODC and the international community support of Iran should be proportionate to the activities and actions at the regional and global level.”

He stated since new smuggling routes and concealment methods are emerging, it is necessary for the anti-narcotics police to be equipped with new detection equipment and tools. Needless to say, the UNODC in Tehran plays a prominent role in providing some of these tools.

Kakavand, for his part, highlighted the need to promote regional cooperation and said, “The Anti-Narcotics Police of Iran has always announced its readiness to collaborate and improve cooperation with all the countries in the region and the world to eradicate narcotics.”

Holding meetings with the anti-narcotics police of Pakistan and Afghanistan in the form of a tripartite initiative in previous years is a strong proof of this claim, he noted.

MT/MG