The Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO), Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, met the Japanese Ambassador to Belgium, H.E. Mr. Hajime Hayashi, at the Headquarters of the WCO in Brussels, Belgium on Friday, 8 March 2019, during which a Note Verbale was exchanged on the Government of Japan’s continuing financial contribution to the WCO Security Project in the Asia/Pacific region.
Global terrorism continues to disrupt economic development and political stability around the world, negatively impacting the security and safety of society in a huge manner. In such an environment, Customs administrations are duty-bound to mobilize all their efforts in order to better secure borders while protecting cross-border trade and the international supply chain.
“Counter-terrorism initiatives run by the WCO support the determination of the international Customs community to fight terrorism at every level in order to eliminate its destructive impact on international trade and economic development,” said WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya. “Indeed, the Government of Japan’s continuing support to the WCO will go a long way in further strengthening the security capabilities of Customs administrations in the Asia/Pacific region.”
H.E. Mr. Hajime Hayashi, the Japanese Ambassador, stressed that Japan highly appreciated activities to address emerging issues faced by WCO Member Customs administrations, such as anti-terrorism, under the leadership of Secretary General Mikuriya. Moreover, he emphasized that the funded project would continue to render much deeper and stronger cooperation, as well as mutual trust, not only with the WCO, but also with its Members in the Asia/Pacific region.
The first phase of the WCO Security Project, which was funded by Japan, has enabled WCO Members in the Asia/Pacific region to significantly enhance their security-focused operational capabilities, particularly in relation to the trafficking in small arms and light weapons (SALW), the illicit diversion of precursor chemicals used in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) falling under the scope of Programme Global Shield (PGS), the WCO’s dedicated IED enforcement programme, and passenger controls with special attention being paid to advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data.
In addition, the WCO Security Project enabled awareness-raising events to be organized, training to be developed and delivered, and advanced detection equipment to be deployed in Customs administrations as a means of increasing their ability to detect and eliminate potential threats. This training and equipment are now being used by WCO Members in WCO-coordinated operations targeting security threats in the Asia/Pacific region.
The deployed equipment includes Handheld Raman Spectrometers and Global Shield Test Kits for the detection and identification of explosive precursor chemicals, Fluorescence X-rays for the detection and identification of precious metals, and Handheld Backscatter X-rays to assist in the detection of SALW.
Prompted by the success of the first phase of the WCO Security Project, Japan’s decision to continue supporting the initiative by providing additional funding to further enhance the capacity of Customs administrations to combat any security threats in the Asia/Pacific region is highly welcomed by the WCO and will be much appreciated by the region’s WCO Member Customs administrations.