The 6th session of the WCO Capacity Building Committee (CBC) was successfully held in Brussels from 23 – 25 February 2015.
The Deputy Secretary General, Mr. Sergio Mujica, opened the session and reminded delegates that this was a critical moment for Customs administrations following the adoption of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). He reiterated that the WCO was well positioned to assist administrations in the implementation of TFA provisions and that the WCO had developed the Mercator Programme to assist WCO Members in this respect.
The Director Capacity Building, Mr. Erich Kieck, briefed the Committee on the progress of WCO Capacity Building and reported that over 350 support missions had been conducted during 2014. With high appreciation, the CBC endorsed the new format of the Capacity Building Delivery Report that provided an overview and snapshot of activities as well as focused case studies from each of the six WCO regions.
As a topic of great interest to the Committee, "Starting with the End in Mind: Quality Implementation by focusing on Results", the CBC took note of the excellent deliberations of the panellists during the opening discussion that stressed the importance of strong leadership, clear accountability, and effective stakeholder engagement as the basis for ensuring that reform and modernization activity is fully planned, structured and results based.
Focusing on the CBC Agenda, fruitful discussions were exchanged particularly around topics on Performance Measurement to support Strategic Planning. The Committee noted the linkage between effective Performance Measurement and efficient Performance Management that encompassed well-organized workforce development, and how Customs administrations on a national level could mobilize resources to support the key elements of WCO global and regional strategic planning process. The CBC noted the value of using the WCO Time Release Study to support Coordinated Border Management.
With appreciation, the CBC took note of the reports and recommendations made by the Chair of the 10th Global ROCB-RTC-VC (Regional Office of Capacity Building – Regional Training Centre – Vice Chair ) meeting which was held in Brussels on 20-21 February 2015, just prior to the CBC. The update from the Secretariat and the Chairperson of the Trade Facilitation Agreement Working Group highlighted recent initiatives related to the WCO Mercator Programme. The Committee also endorsed the new chapter 5 and the additions to chapter 10 of the WCO Capacity Building Development Compendium related to Project Management and Donor Engagement. The Committee also noted developments relating to the WCO Leadership & Management Development Programme, the Framework of Principles & Practices on Customs Professionalism, the People Development Diagnostic Tool, the Gender Equality Assessment Tool, the new e-learning modules including the 1st pilot session of the Virtual Customs Orientation Academy, and the WCO diagnostic tool to assist Pre-Shipment Inspection analysis.
Participants of the CBC also benefitted from several lunch break events which provided insights into ongoing WCO Capacity Building projects and initiatives.
The 6th session of the CBC was chaired by Mr. Ernani Checcucci from Brazil. Mr Per Avid Nordli, from Norway, is elected as Chair and Mr Dato’ Abdul Rahman, from Malaysia, is re-elected as the Vice-Chair for the next CBC session which is tentatively scheduled to take place in Brussels at the end of February 2016.