30 June 2009 - The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) handed over a two-storey building to the Afghan Ministry of Justice in Jalalabad today.

The 20-room building constructed in the Rokhan Mina neighbourhood of the eastern regional hub of Jalalabad will serve as the office of the Department of Justice, which has contributed to the anti-narcotics drive in the east of the country.

Deputy Minister of Justice Mohammad Qasem Hashemi opened the building constructed in an 800-square metre plot of land provided by the Afghan Government.

The Deputy Minister expressed his hope that the building will help the Justice Department staff perform their duties more efficiently and serve the people.

“I am sure they will use the building correctly and maintain it,” Mr Hashemi told the gathering in the handover ceremony attended by Nangarhar provincial officials, UN staff, police officers and staff from Jalalabad prison.

UNODC’s National Project Coordinator, Radifullah Hamid said UNODC led the construction at the request of the Afghan Government. The funding – US$ 153,000 (7.65 million Afs) – was provided by the Canadian Government.

The Afghan Government has put Nangarhar province at the top of its priority list in its fight against poppy production.

The Director of the Department of Justice, Mohammad Khalil, said his office in Jalalabad was in “trouble”, lacking a proper office building and this new building will help his department work “in a very good environment and with comfort.”

By Tilak Pokharel & Shafiqullah Waak, UNAMA