Training for Customs Officers on Trade-Related MEAs
Compliance and enforcement in the area of environmental crime is a priority area for many MEAs, particularly those with trade components. Illegal trade of prohibited items, whether they be ozone-depleting substances, other toxic chemicals or waste, as well as products from endangered wild flora and fauna, seriously undermines the effectiveness of those agreements. The role of customs officials in monitoring and controlling flows of regulated items at international borders is at the heart of the Green Customs Initiative, a joint undertaking by UNEP, the World Customs Organization (WCO), the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), and the Secretariats of five trade related MEAs as well as the Secretariat of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Green Customs Initiative focuses both on facilitating the processing of legal trade and assisting in combating illegal trade in environmentally-sensitive items and aims to enhance the enforcement capacity of customs officials with regards to MEAs in a cost effective and efficient approach.
List of activities
In 2005, the first full phase of the Green Customs Initiative was launched. Initially, five regional workshops to build and enhance the capacity of customs officials in the implementation of trade-related MEAs, including the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in Trade (PIC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention have been held. These include:
- West Asia (in Damascus, Syria; May 2005)
- Caribbean (in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad; September 2005)
- Caucasus (in Tblisi, Georgia; October 2005)
- South Asia (in Thimphu, Bhutan; October-November 2005)
- East Africa (in Arusha, Tanzania; November 2005)
In addition, in February 2006, the first national Green Customs workshop was held in Mauritius. Through these workshops, the Green Customs Training Guide on the implementation of trade-related MEAs was reviewed and tested, which laid the ground for the next steps of the Green Customs Initiative. The Guide is currently in its last review phase for publication in early 2007. A new series of national and regional workshops is also foreseen for 2007.
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