Liechtenstein to initiate next phase of finance project to combat slavery
The Liechtenstein project "Finance against Slavery and Trafficking" contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and is to be continued.
Liechtenstein has presented the next phase of its “Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking” project. Together with the UN’s development program, the devised concepts are now to be implemented in specific projects.
Dominique Hasler, who is a member of the Government of the Principality of Liechtenstein, has presented the next phase of the “Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking” (FAST) project. The initiative was launched in 2018 by Liechtenstein with the aim of actively contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For this new project phase, a globally recognised organisation was found in the shape of the United Nations Development Program (UND ), which specialises in precisely this area.
One of the positive factors arising from efforts to combat modern slavery and human trafficking is that a training course for compliance officers in the financial sector has now been completed more than 45,000 times. In this certificate course, the compliance offers are taught how to recognise illegal business models related to these crimes and the associated financial flows, as well as how to report these to the authorities and to block such investments at an early stage.
In addition, FAST has so far helped more than 4,500 victims, whose ID papers are often confiscated by human traffickers and exploiters looking to steal their legal identity, to gain legal access to finance.
The next phase of the project will now focus more on supporting developing countries and financial actors on the ground, as well as devising measures to support victims of such crimes. In a first step, the UNDP will focus on Nigeria and Thailand.
Liechtenstein is supporting the new phase of this flagship project for the implementation of the SDGs to the tune of 250,000 Swiss francs. Simon Tribelhorn, Director of the Liechtenstein Bankers Association, highlighted the positive appeal of the FAST project in terms of its impact of the Liechtenstein financial sector and its reputation.
