Miwa Kato is United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s Director for Global Operations, overseeing field-based technical assistance across the globe with an innovative change mindset. UNODC is a department of the UN Secretariat assisting Member States fighting transnational organized crime, corruption and terrorism, providing assistance to counter crimes such as illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking, smuggling of migrants, and violence against women and cybercrime, and creating capacity for criminal justice and crime prevention.

She previously served as UNWOMEN’s Regional Director for Asia Pacific, overseeing women’s empowerment support in 42 countries. This was preceded by assignment as UNWOMEN’s Country Director for Egypt, following 12 years of work with UNODC in various capacities, from assisting Afghanistan in post-conflict peacebuilding to supporting inter-governmental norm-setting. A proud Sophia University graduate with PhD awarded by University of Vienna, she has spent the past two decades serving in the global public sector in New York, The Hague, Vienna, Kabul, Cairo, and Bangkok.