From 24 to 28 October the WCO COVID-19 Project, financially supported by the Government of Japan, organized a four-day workshop to assist Fiji Customs in improving its ability to tackle unpredictable scenarios and to review and test Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the clearance of relief consignments, fostering reaction capacity and experience-sharing when faced with disruptive situations.
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disaster trends in Fiji, including seven tropical cyclones expected between November 2022 and April 2023, the Fiji Customs requested the support of the WCO COVID-19 Project so they could be better equipped and prepared to respond effectively to emergencies. During the first few days of the event, Customs officials and humanitarian actors had the opportunity to learn more about the WCO and international instruments, tools and best practices that can be applied to disaster-related Customs clearance and used to identify existing bottlenecks preventing the smooth clearance of emergency goods and equipment.
To this end, participants worked in groups to analyze current SOPs for Customs areas relevant to humanitarian operations, such as the exemption of duties and taxes for International and Non-Governmental Organizations, the importation of telecommunications equipment and foodstuffs and the facilitation of donated medicines and medical equipment.
The closing day focused on scenario-based testing capacity and on fostering cross-sector coordination between government institutions, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMO) and stakeholders involved in the movement of relief goods, including Customs, disaster management organizations, enforcement agencies and humanitarian sector organizations. The simulation exercise designed for this training helped identify strengths and opportunities for improvement and served as a basis for a follow-up report documenting the process, findings and recommendations.
Given the importance for the World Customs Organization of building up the response capacity of Small Island Economies (SIEs), the WCO COVID-19 Project has been giving priority to this area of work, with similar activities having already been held for Tonga Customs during the summer of 2022 and new ones being developed for other islands.
More information about the WCO COVID-19 Project and activities