COVID-19 - UFA Response
The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has introduced new challenges for the UFA as an organisation, for individual delegates and for secretariat staff members. Most UFA member jurisdictions have implemented significant travel and border restrictions to control the outbreak of this new virus, including self-isolation and social distancing rules which impact the ability of delegates to attend or hold meetings, large and small.
This is a very unique time for all UFA delegates and staff members. The UFA secretariat, in consultation with the Co-Chairs, has implemented travel restrictions for staff members to ensure their continuing health and well-being. However, while many meetings and other actvities have been cancelled or delayed in the short- to medium- term, the secretariat and UFA delegates continue to deliver the full range of desk-based core work and continue to work extensively on mutual evaluation report drafting and policy development. The Governance Committee recently adopted a detailed schedule of meetings and business items to address in the coming months and has implemented a road map to position the UFA to continue our important contribution to the global AML/CFT network.
The secretariat will support the UFA Governance Committee to assess the immediate and long-term impact of COVID-19 on our member jurisdictions and on the AML/CFT landscape, in general, and report to the membership on significant issues of concern and lessons learned during this extraordinary circumstance.
The UFA Co-Chairs and the secretariat remain hopeful that we will all return to normal work patterns as soon as possible with the least disruption. In the meantime, we are confident in our ability to respond flexibly to the ever-changing environment and we are hopeful that all of our member and observer delegates around the region and beyond remain healthy and safe.