Press Release

UNODC launches construction of the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre premises

20 June 2022

  • Villingili, Maldives/20 June 2022: A ground-breaking ceremony was held to initiate the construction of the new Maldives Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) premises in the island of Villingili, west of Male.

The event was attended by the Ambassador of Japan to Maldives, the Minister of Defence, UNODC-GMCP’s Programme Coordinator, and senior officials from the Maldives National Defence Force.

Once finished, the building will have the new MRCC operations room, accommodation spaces and classrooms that can be used to host national and international training programmes to increase the skills of members of government agencies involved in search and rescue (SAR), and maritime law enforcement operations.

Enrico B

Enrico Boninsegna

UNODC
Head of Office
Mr. Enrico Boninsegna started his assignment with UNODC in May 2020, supporting activities carried out in the field of preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Prior to his current position, Mr. Boninsegna worked for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe as a Monitoring Officer in Donetsk (Non-Government-Controlled Areas of Ukraine), and as a Human Rights Officer on Countering Terrorism in Warsaw (Poland). Additional professional experiences include working as an Associate Expert for UNODC’s Regional Office for Central Asia (2010-2012) in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and as a defence Case Manager at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (2009-2010) in The Hague, Netherlands. Mr. Boninsegna holds a master’s degree in law from the University of Bologna (Italy) and a LL.M. from the University of Turin (Italy).

UN entities involved in this initiative

UNODC
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Other entities involved in this initiative

JICA
Japan International Cooperation Agency

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