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Manila (the Philippines), 23 December 2009 - This year, the third edition of the Regional Seminar on Good Governance for South-East Asian Countries focused on measures to freeze, confiscate and recover the proceeds of corruption, and on preventing the laundering of such proceeds. Hosted in Manila on 9 and 10 December 2009, the seminar was jointly organized by
the Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, affiliated with the United Nations (UNAFEI), the National Prosecution Service and the Department of Justice of the Philippines, as well as UNODC. The event was part of a broader regional effort to mark International Anti-corruption Day in South-East Asia.
During the three-day seminar, participants from Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam discussed the challenges they faced in cooperating with the aim of confiscating and recovering the proceeds of corruption, as well as adopting the necessary preventive measures to avoid money-laundering. Addressing gaps at the regional level was seen as essential for countering transnational organized crime, which is why participants provided a set of recommendations to strengthen national and regional legislation.
The seminar was officially opened by Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, Ambassador of Japan Makoto Katsura, Director of the Asia and Far East Institute Masaki Sasaki and UNODC Senior Legal Advisor Michel Bonnieu.
In his presentation entitled "UNODC Regional Centre efforts and challenges in facilitating effective identification, freezing, confiscation and recovery of the proceeds of corruption in South-East Asian countries", Mr. Bonnieu introduced also the Towards AsiaJust programme, developed by UNODC in cooperation with the main authorities of the national criminal justice systems in the region.