11 December 2009 - The United Nations today announced a US $ 3.5 millions project aimed at supporting Guinea-Bissau drug trafficking and organized crime combat.

The announcement was made in Bissau by the Regional Representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Alexandre Schmidt at the Reviewing UNODC Programme for Guinea-Bissau meeting organized by the country's Ministry of Justice and UNODC.

The project envisages improving logistical and operational capabilities of Guinea-Bissau's judicial police by setting up a specialized unit on drug trafficking and organized crime.

According to Schmidt, another project of US $700,000 will be launched in the area of justice and rule of law reinforcement.

The Reviewing UNODC Programme for Guinea-Bissau's meeting brought together the Representative of the Secretary-General, Joseph Mutaboba, UN Resident Coordinator, Giuseppina Mazza, Guinea-Bissau minister of Justice, international partner representatives and Guinea-Bissau officials.

In his statement, Mutaboba recalled that Guinea-Bissau is not alone in its struggle against this scourge and announced that "together with Sierra-Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau is amongst the first four countries in West Africa which will benefit from the operational implementation of the West Africa Coast Initiative", a "strategic partnership of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA) , United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) UNODC, UNIOGBIS, INTERPOL and the Governments of West African Countries" aimed to combat drug trafficking in the region.