CIFAL Doha opens

CIFAL Doha, an international training centre for authorities and leaders, was officially inaugurated by Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center HE Dr Ali bin Fetais Al Marri and the head of the CIFAL Global Network Alex Mejia at the Lusail University on Wednesday.
CIFAL Doha, the first of its kind in the Arab region and the Middle East, will represent the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and will contribute to the advancement of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. The centre will also specialize in anti-corruption and sustainable development.
During the event, Mejia presented a United Nations flag to Dr Al Marri to mark the event.
Flag hoisting ceremony was also held at the campus.
CIFAL Doha is joining as the 23rd centre in the CIFAL Global Network, whose mission is to strengthen the capacity of government officials and civil society leaders, empowering them to advance sustainable development.
The network comprises International Training Centers for Authorities and Leaders located across Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, thus ensuring a global outreach.
Speaking at the launch event, Al Marri said there are many CIFAL centres in the world but the CIFAL Doha is the first in the Arab world.
“The trust of the international community and international organisations about having partnership with Qatar came from the trust and confidence put in the broad leadership of His Highness the Amir of State of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The civil society organisations had all the necessary support in Qatar.”
He explained that the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center is part of the civil society in Qatar and has trained 2,744 people in partnership with the UN in the last two years.
“Most of the trainees are ministers, judges, lawyers, high grade officers in police, military and many others. The centre provided the training in partnership with the UN through UNITAR,” he added.
Dr Al Marri explained that the cooperation with UNITAR started in Geneva through the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Center.
According to him, CIFAL was a specialised centre for the UN for government employees, individuals and leaders and that this partnership was important for Qatar since it has a big responsibility to the international community in its effort to provide support to those in need.
For his part, Mejia said that the CIFAL centres have been in operation for two decades and have a reputation of capacity building for government officials and civil society and they were honoured to have the first one in the region, specifically in Doha. “Without capacity building there is no development.”
Mejia appreciated Dr Al Marri, a member of UNITAR’s Board of Trustees, and ROLACC for its long and continuous support to the training in anti-corruption, from which over 2,500 participants from 27 countries have benefited, and its role as secretariat of the Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Award.
The CIFAL Global Network is coordinated by UNITAR’s Social Development Programme. UNITAR provides innovative learning solutions to individuals, organisations, and institutions to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.
The Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Centre (ROLACC) was inaugurated in 2011 in order to promote mutual cooperation and partnership building both locally and regionally, with an international mandate to spread awareness and knowledge of the policies and tools necessary to prevent and combat corruption.
The centre promotes the permanent exchange of experience and expertise in the region through strategic partnerships with the relevant bodies of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Institute of Training and Research.CIFAL Doha, the first-of-its-kind training centre in the Arab region and the Middle East for authorities and officials, will represent the UN Institute for Training and Research. The centre will specialise in anti-corruption and sustainable development