UAE Ministry of Interior celebrates Nelson Mandela International Day

ABU DHABI, 20th July, 2017 (WAM) -- The Ministry of Interior yesterday celebrated Nelson Mandela International Day, which is held on 18th July every year. The celebrations held were under the patronage of H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. Organised by the General Administration of Punitive and Correctional Institutions in cooperation with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, UNODC, at the Fairmont Bab Al Bahr in Abu Dhabi, the event included a cultural forum and an exhibition of the products created by the prisoners of the punitive and correctional institutions of the Ministry of Interior. In his statement for the occasion, Major General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, Acting Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, expressed the desire of the police leadership to provide all means of rehabilitation for prisoners and facilitate their re-integration into the community as productive members. He also said that the ministry is working to realise the vision and strategy of the UAE, to be among the safest countries in the world. Brigadier Hamad Khamis Al Dhaheri, Director-General of the Punitive and Corrective Institutions in the Ministry of Interior, thanked the audience for attending this event, which was held as a response to the initiative of the United Nations. He said that the UAE is following in the footsteps of its founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who supported freedom and dignity. He also noted that the UAE cooperates with all genuine humanitarian initiatives, as a productive member of the international community and in accordance with its aspirations to achieve the freedom, security and prosperity of the world’s population. In his speech, Dr. Hatem Ali, Director of the UNODC in the Gulf Cooperation Council, expressed his appreciation to the officials of the ministry for their desire to promote cooperation with the UNODC to develop the regional standards of the Gulf region, with regard to the treatment of prisoners. The celebration was attended by the directors of regional departments of punitive and correctional institutions in the country, as well as several officers of the ministry.