Director General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning. It is a pleasure to welcome you to here to discuss how we can empower women leaders in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
UNODC works around the world to strengthen criminal justice responses to organized crime, corruption, money laundering and terrorism.
Our experience, backed by research, shows that more women in law enforcement, especially in decision-making roles, and attention to gender-sensitive responses makes policing more effective.
The involvement of women in counter-terrorism can strengthen prevention efforts, foster trust and improve community outreach.
Nevertheless, in the vast majority of countries, women remain greatly under-represented in law enforcement and security agencies.
An overall lack of gender balance is also very evident in the AML/CFT field.
Failing to promote women and integrate gender perspectives means action against money laundering and terrorist financing is not as effective as it could be.
It also increases the risk that policies to fight these crimes will unintentionally hurt women, who are more often excluded from formal financial systems.
That is why UNODC has decided to organize this meeting with you, to provide an inclusive platform to broaden the dialogue, strengthen gender mainstreaming and, ultimately, improve responses to prevent and counter money laundering and terrorist financing.
It is also a priority for us at the UN Office at Vienna and UNODC to mainstream gender across all areas of our work, and further advance efforts toward gender parity in our own workplace, in line with the Secretary-General's system-wide strategy.
Last year, we launched our Strategy for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women.
We are closely monitoring progress, and UNODC remains committed to empowering women in the AML/CFT field, and in the security sector.
Together with you, we wish to use this meeting to explore options for addressing under-representation and promoting women leaders.
By drawing on the diversity of experience, insights and perspectives in this room, we can better understand the barriers to women's recruitment and hiring, professional development and promotion.
We can propose innovative solutions and help ensure that women fighting the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing have access to the opportunities they need to succeed.
This meeting aims to produce an outcome document, based on your discussions, that can serve as a practical tool to promote change.
We look forward to hearing your insights, best practices and success stories, and to learning from you.
UNODC is here to support you. Thank you, and I wish you fruitful discussions.