Philippine Pushes Gender-Responsive Solutions in Fight against Money Laundering, Terror Financing

Ambassador Evangelina A. Bernas, Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, urges participants to push for gender-responsive solutions against money laundering at the “Empowering Women Leaders: Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)” workshop organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Vienna International Center on 5 November 2024 (Photo Credit: Ms. Leah Khristine Avinante, UNODC)

VIENNA 07 November 2024 – The Philippines pushed for gender-responsive solutions at an event for women leaders on mainstreaming gender perspectives in the fight against money laundering and terror financing held at the Vienna International Center on 05 November 2024.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna Ambassador Evangelina L. A. Bernas was the keynote speaker to the “Empowering Women Leaders: Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT)” workshop organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The event’s focus was on online scams targeting women.

“Understanding how women and men, girls and boys, are victimized and how they are impacted differently would allow us to design more targeted, effective, and practical solutions to money laundering and terrorist financing,” she stated.

As technology advances, including the rise of deep fakes and cryptocurrency-enabled transactions, Ambassador Bernas called attention to the growing complexity of combating financial crimes.

Highlighting the Philippines' leadership, the Ambassador noted the recently concluded International Conference on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) last 28-30 October 2024 hosted by the country. She also pointed out the country’s advancements toward exiting the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list due to significant AML/CFT reforms. 

“From developing risk indicators and red flags to sharing best practices of effective prosecution, it is my hope that the results of your discussions will contribute significantly to laws, policies, and procedures of UNODC member states.” she said. END

Ambassador Evangelina A. Bernas (right), Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, and Ms. Loide Aryee (right), Chief of UNODC's Organized Crime and Illicit Trafficking Branch with the participants of the “Empowering Women Leaders: Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CTF)” event organized by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at the Vienna International Center on 5 November 2024 (Photo Credit: Ms. Leah Khristine Avinante, UNODC)

For more information, visit https://www.viennape.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.at or https://www.facebook.com/PHinAustria, or  https://www.instagram.com/phinaustria/.