Government of Japan Pledges A Grant Of USD 2.5 M To UNODC To Enhance Maritime Security in Maldives

On Wednesday, the Government of Japan committed a grant of USD 2.5 Million to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to enhance maritime safety and security in the Maldives. The grant agreement was signed yesterday between the Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives, Her Excellency Mrs. Takeuchi Midori and the Regional Representative, UNODC Regional Office for South Asia, Mr. Marco Moreira De Sa Assuncao Teixeira.  

As per the terms of the Exchange of Note, the grant provided by the Japanese government will provide comprehensive assistance to the government of Maldives to efficiently investigate, detect, prevent and prosecute cases of drug trafficking, crimes in the fisheries sector and crimes related to marine spaces in the Maldivian jurisdiction. Moreover, the assistance will also be utilized to ensure that offenders apprehended under such cases are detained in human rights-enabled facilities.

Additionally, the grant will drive efforts to effectively prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism in the country through the increased strengthening of resilience among communities and providing thorough rehabilitation and reintegration (R&R) support. The main objectives of this 3-year project are outlined under 5 outputs.

1. Prevention: Augmenting knowledge, skills and coordination capacities among criminal justice actors and local stakeholders. This will enable them to combat the root causes driving individuals to engage in illegal conduct on both land and sea.
 
2. Detection: Enhancing efficiency and technical capacity of maritime security practitioners within concerning government agencies. Consequently allowing them to timely identify, interfere and respond to threats originating from the maritime domain.
 
3. Investigation: Consolidate the ability of criminal justice practitioners to identify, collect and handle drug-related information and items, allowing criminal trials to be established.
 
4. Prosecution: Increase awareness and competencies across relevant government agencies to efficiently prosecute suspects of unlawful conduct connected to the maritime domain in offences such as drug trafficking etc. without discrepancies.
 
5. Detention, Rehabilitation & Reintegration: Improving capacities of practitioners who work with convicted individuals to effectively carry out rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders with the coordination of other relevant counterparts. Uphold the international human rights standards while conducting R&R support.
 
The Government of Japan is committed to substantially contributing to the ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)’ policy by working alongside the Maldives to advance prosperity and ensure safety and security for people of both countries.