United effort 'is needed to fight drug abuse'

There is not enough cooperation among Gulf countries to combat drug abuse by children and teenagers, said the Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police.

The statement from Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim came at a press conference held yesterday by Dubai Police and the Mentor Foundation, an international, non governmental organisation working to prevent illegal substance use.

"We are working to interact and exchange information. Some Arab countries still need to put more effort into cooperation," Lt Gen Dahi said.

"Our main objective is to target the major drug sources and increase cooperation between the UAE and ministers of the interior. We want to work together with this foundation to protect children from the threat of drugs. We are now facing an international problem that is spreading around the world and could destroy the young generation," he said.

It was also announced that a gala dinner to raise awareness of the problem will be held in Dubai in December, attended by Queen Sylvia of Sweden, the president of the Mentor Foundation.

Jeff Lee, the executive director of Mentor Foundation, said anti-drug campaigners had encountered problems in the past decade while trying to gain the understanding of government authorities in some countries.

In the past five years, however, some countries have opened up to face the issue. There has also been a marked improvement in the Arab presence at international conferences.

Despite this, statistics on drug abuse in the UAE are vague. Lt Gen Dahi said even if addicts amount to 1 per cent, it is still 1 per cent too much because these people are capable of corrupting whole communities. He rejected the idea that the UAE could be a transit point for drugs.

The Mentor Foundation said it will support the work of Dubai Police in its mission to prevent drug abuse by educating trainers in drug prevention. No specific programme was mentioned. Collaboration between the foundation and police started a year ago.

The Mentor Foundation was established ten years ago by Queen Sylvia of Sweden and Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Saud. It seeks to provide strategies that focus on implementing projects and supporting policy development for preventative action.

Mentoring takes place through a number of scientific workshops that combine drug prevention tactics gathered from several countries involved in the programme.

"Our scientific workshops have been a success in other countries. We will learn lessons from past experiences and build bridges internationally," said Dr Fareeda Allaghi, member of the executive committee of the foundation.