the Launching Ceremony of the Juvenile Justice Reform
Wednesday, 7^th December 2005 -  Time : 9:00 a.m.
MoPIC meeting room

Your Excellency Ms. Suhier Al-Ali, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation,
Your Excellency Dr. Sulaiman Tarawneh, Minister of Social Development, Your Excellency Mr Abed Shakhanbeh, Minister of Justice, Your Excellency Mr. Paul Widmer, Ambassador of Switzerland and
Your Excellency Mr Hugo Gajus Scheltema, Ambassador of The Netherlands

Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, UN colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen,

 It is an honour to be here today representing the United Nations Development Programme and to address you on this special event which marks the official launch of the Juvenile Justice Programme and brings together our partners and all those concerned with Juvenile Justice issues in Jordan.

 UNDP has a long and withstanding partnership with the government of Jordan, with whom we share our development objectives including poverty alleviation, achieving good governance and protection of the environment.  It is with great pleasure that we welcome again our sister agency, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, into this partnership to draw on their vast, specialized expertise for the benefit of Juveniles in this country.

 The Juvenile Justice Programme falls in line with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework for Jordan and complements the UNDP country programme namely our efforts in the area of Justice System, human rights and protection of vulnerable groups. 

 We are launching today a programme that supports capacity building of national institutions working in the field of Juvenile Justice and streamlines mechanisms aiming at more efficient service delivery for children in conflict with the law, children at risk as well as victims. The programme also supports the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through promoting human welfare and assisting the most vulnerable sectors of society. It contributes to both short and long term development objectives by tackling the problem of juvenile delinquency while providing appropriate measures for rehabilitation and prevention. The accomplishment of the projects results will facilitate better opportunities for those children to lead a productive life and practice good citizenship.

 This can only be achieved through capitalizing on strong partnerships and good collaboration of all concerned, which would ensure that resources are used most efficiently towards realizing the intended objectives. We all have a stake in having this programme work and deliver, hence we need to work together in harmony, coordinate and each of us fulfil our assigned role in the best manner.

 I would finally like to reiterate gratitude to our key national partners for their ongoing efforts and to the governments of Switzerland and the Netherlands for providing the resources necessary to materialize this important programme.

 Wishing the programme smooth and successful implementation

 Thank you all for your attention.