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Training for DRC Customs Officers on the Kimberley Process

13 October 2011

Training Workshop for DRC Customs Officers on the Kimberley Process

As part of its Customs Reform and Modernization Programme, the WCO, in collaboration with the Belgian Customs and Excise Administration, has held a workshop to train Customs officers on the Kimberley Process. This event took place in Kinshasa (DRC) from 19 to 23 September 2011.

The Kimberley Process is a joint initiative bringing together governments, the World Diamond Council and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in order to end the trade in conflict diamonds: rough diamonds used by rebel movements to finance armed conflict aimed at undermining legitimate governments.

The workshop provided an opportunity to build the capacities of DRC Customs officers in the management of products requiring a Kimberley Process Certificate and to enhance their knowledge in order to counter fraud, and the ensuing decline in revenue, more effectively.

The workshop was attended by officers from the Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGDA) and from several regions of the DRC with responsibility for training, for the management of procedures and for controls relating to the Kimberley Process. Experts from the Ministry of Mines, the Border Police and Rwandan Customs participated in the workshop and made a valuable contribution to it. Belgian experts enlightened participants about bad practices in this domain and how to deal with them. A visit was also organized to the Centre for Valuation, Expertise and Certification of Precious and Semi-Precious Mineral Substances (CEEC).

The participants expressed their satisfaction with the skills and knowledge gained during the workshop and the Administration undertook to develop relevant training for its field officers. Training in the valuation of precious substances remains the greatest concern of DRC Customs.

This workshop was made possible through funding from the Belgian Government with support from the Netherlands Fund for the Regional Office for Capacity Building for West and Central Africa (ROCB WCA) and through the generous contribution by the DGDA.