20-21 February, and 24-28 February 2020, Brussels, Belgium

Dr. Tong Hua, Programe Manager of the ROCB A/P, attended the 19th Session of the WCO Integrity Sub-Committee (ISC) (20-21 Feb) and the 40th session of the WCO Enforcement Committee (24-28 Feb) held in Brussels, Belgium respectively. Both meetings are well connected with International Customs Day’s theme for 2020 - “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”.

The ISC stressed Customs role cannot be implemented without a high level of integrity and professional ethics not only inside Customs but also in the entire business environment involving stakeholders, thus the biggest integrity challenges for Customs were the security of their internal systems and sensitive data in the era of new technologies and digitalization. The ISC highlighted the WCO second global meeting of integrity experts hosted in Xiamen, China last December 2019, in which conducted a preliminary review of the WCO’s main integrity tool - the Integrity Development Guide (IDG) based on the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration on Good Governance and Integrity in Customs.

The EC emphasized that Customs was uniquely mandated to play a prominent role across the international supply chain, linking Customs’ strategic mission and several UN Sustainable Development Goals.  Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO, pointed out that the WCO is constantly working on implementation of its tools, such as the latest version of Harmonized System (HS2022), international trade-related provisions of MEAs such as Basel Convention, risk management techniques and data analytics, digital platforms (CEN) and RILO network to facilitate legal trade and to fight crime. Under the WCO Environment Programme, the WCO Secretariat highlighted the great achievements of the Operation DEMETER V and Operation THUNDERBALL, which showcased Customs’ contribution to environmental sustainability and partnerships with environmental agencies as well as other law enforcement agencies.

Please also refer to the previous ROCB web article:

1. ROCB A/P attends the WCO second Global Meeting of Integrity Experts

http://www.rocb-ap.org/article-detail/524/?crmid=9m1k1944j6k3nhn8evj4mu1o50

2. ROCB A/P attends the Debriefing of Operation of Thunderball & Demeter V

http://www.rocb-ap.org/article-detail/522/?crmid=ubt7op73igic31jkcp51e1gks0

For more information, please write to us at rocb@rocbap.org