Making the world safer from crime, drugs and terrorism

The history of the UNODC presence in Thailand reflects the institutional changes that UNODC encountered in the last four decades.

In 1971 the development of the Crop Replacement Project required a permanent presence in Thailand, hence the first office was established. Subsequently, in 1986, the United Nations Fund for Drug Abuse Control (UNFDAC) up-graded this office to the status of Field Office, thus granting wider responsibilities.

In 1991, the United Nations International Drug Control Progamme (UNDCP) further expanded the geographical mandate of the office in Thailand, which was then renamed Regional Centre for East Asia.

In 1998, the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention (UN/ODCCP) expanded the mandate of the Regional Centre also across the Pacific and in 2002 the office was renamed Regional Centre for East Asia and the Pacific of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

As of 1st July 2009, the Regional Centre in Bangkok oversees the UNODC activities in 34 countries and territories across East Asia and the Pacific, including the programmes implemented by the Country Offices in Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam. Project offices are present also in Cambodia, China and Indonesia.

Currently the activities implemented by UNODC in East Asia and the Pacific contribute to the achievement of the results envisaged in the 2009-2012 Regional Programme Framework.