Ambassador Philbert Johnson Pays Visit to the Laboratory of United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)

19th July 2021

H.E.  Philbert Abaka Johnson and the staff of the Mission, on Monday, 19th July 2021, embarked on a fact finding mission to the  Laboratory of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). It was also to explore possibilities for deeper cooperation between the Ghana and the UNODC in dealing with the drug menace. 

The UNODC laboratory provide scientific and forensic services to three hundred ( 300 ) labs in eighty (80) countries, including the  training of  frontline officers on how to detect drugs and precursors in their field of work.

The UNODC laboratory was originally founded in 1954 to undertake scientific  research on opium, cannabis and other substances under  international control, currently ensures worldwide availability  and accessibility  of internationally accepted standards  for forensic best practices.

It assist Member States to improve national forensic capacity and capabilities to meet internationally accepted standards of performance, and promotes  the use of scientific  and forensic  data in strategic operations , policy and decision making .  

The UNODC   laboratory  also offers an ideal focal point for drug analysis  and forensic science activities worldwide  and  partners with international organizations  and associations of forensic science institutes, and leading drug analysis and forensic  services. 

Chief of the laboratory and Scientific Section of the  United Nations  in Vienna, Dr. Justice Tettey,  underscored  that , through the laboratory,  UNODC has not only restored  the vision of the General Assembly  in supporting countries to deal with the drug problem, but gone further in helping to identify emerging threats  and support countries  in a timely  manner,  to reduce the negative impact of   threats.