Drug trafficking is one of terrorist groups’ sources of funding, as it is a conciliatory way to bond with other organized crime groups, said Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Ghada Fathy Ismail Waly.
As the UNODC and the Arab League were inking the Arab Plan for Drug Prevention, the UN official highlighted that 42% of Arab youth are jobless, and closer to terrorism, drugs, and extremism.
The Arab plan’s methodology is based on evidence-based practice, and it includes input from governments, the commercial sector and civil society, she said.
UNODC has expanded in a number of areas, such as the fight against corruption and human trafficking.
Fathy Ismail Waly added that the UNODC is ready to support Arab countries in the field of drug forensics, which developed a lot during the COVID-19 era.