On 11 March 2019, the opening day of this year’s Enforcement Committee Meeting, Mr. Douglas Owen, Secretary General of the Bureau International des Containers (BIC), and Mr. Giordano Guerrini, BIC Chairman of the Board, presented the BIC Award to Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, WCO Secretary General, and to Mr. John Brandolino, Director of the Division for Treaty Affairs, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), in recognition of the effectiveness of the UNODC – WCO Container Control Programme (CCP).

BIC was founded in 1933 as a neutral, non-profit international organization and holds observer status with the WCO. BIC hosts the industry’s global container prefix registry, a role further endorsed by international Customs conventions. Every year, BIC’s Board of Directors selects a single candidate from a pool of industry nominees to receive its Award, honouring individuals or organizations for notable contributions to safety, security, standardization or sustainability in containerized transportation.

BIC’s Chairman of the Board, Mr. Guerrini, informed the Enforcement Committee that the Container Control Programme had been selected for its achievements in improving security and mitigating smuggling in container transportation. BIC believes that the capacity building efforts of the CCP, as well as its important work in promoting advanced risk assessment around the world, are to be applauded and encouraged.

Secretary General Mikuriya underlined the good and longstanding cooperation between the WCO and BIC, referring to the BIC Code Register as an important reference database for Customs risk management and trade facilitation. The CCP has incorporated training on the use of the BIC Code Register in its standard training curriculum and, since its launch nearly 15 years ago, the CCP seeks to maintain a delicate balance between protecting public health and safety and facilitating trade, in order to ensure the seamless processing of goods at borders. Partnering with UNODC in this joint Programme, the WCO is honoured to receive this BIC Award in recognition of these efforts.

UNODC Director Brandolino referred to the massive scale and complexity of global commerce and the holistic and multi-sectoral approach of the CCP in addressing the challenges posed by transnational organized crime and terrorists seeking to exploit opportunities offered by the sheer volume of global trade for their illegal activities. He stated that the UNODC was pleased to receive the BIC Award in recognition of the efforts made through the CCP.

The CCP was initiated by the WCO and UNODC in 2004 to address illicit trade activities in containerized shipments through the establishment of dedicated Port Control Units, responsible for profiling suspicious consignments. Following its well-established staged training concept, the CCP has expanded into the air cargo sector and also provides training on selected land border crossings. The CCP is currently operational in 50 countries, while funding to support the creation of Port Control Units/Air Cargo Control Units for an additional 12 countries is also available.

For more details on the CCP, please refer to the CCP Annual Report 2018.