President William Ruto has met with the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna, Monica Juma, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The meeting focused on expanding Kenya's partnership with UNODC in tackling maritime crime, cyber-enabled crimes, border control and drug trafficking.
Juma said the discussions covered the growing trafficking of drugs along routes from Latin America and the Caribbean to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
“We also explored cooperation on drug-use prevention and treatment, building on the joint UNODC-WHO international standards,” Juma said.
President Ruto agreed to establish a team bringing together officials from the Ministry of Interior, the Office of the Attorney-General, the Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies to develop a coordinated strategy.
The UNODC chief said the strategy would take into account the agency's expertise and knowledge, while cooperation would also focus on strengthening law enforcement capacity.
Juma welcomed President Ruto's commitment to advancing Kenya's ratification of the UN Convention against Cybercrime, saying the move would support efforts to tackle cyber-enabled crimes.
“I thank the President for his expressed commitment to advance Kenya’s ratification of the UN Convention against Cybercrime. This will undoubtedly aid efforts targeting cyber-enabled crimes,” she said.
Ruto also said Kenya would deepen cooperation with UNODC on training and law enforcement capacity, while exploring collaboration on standards for the treatment of drug abuse.
