A National Workshop on Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) Image Analysis was delivered by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Port Louis, Mauritius from 14 to 16 June 2023. The workshop was conducted with the financial assistance of the Customs Cooperation Fund of China (CCF China) and was attended by 21 Customs officials from the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA).

During the first part of the event, the Workshop facilitators provided an overview of the WCO tools and initiatives pertaining to NII, such as the WCO Technical Experts Group on NII (TEG-NII) and its deliverables, including the Unified File Format (UFF) and the WCO Guidelines for the procurement and deployment of scanning/NII equipment (NII Guidelines), as well as the annual WCO Technology Conference and Exhibition. Moreover, the WCO experts provided best-practice examples of how to embed NII into Customs operations and how to perform NII based on risk analysis. In addition, the Workshop facilitators examined in depth topics such as image analysis skills, tools and functions, common mistakes in image analysis, material discrimination and automated threat recognition. Hands-on practical exercises were conducted during the second part of the workshop focusing on the discussion of case studies and lessons learnt.

The use of NII technologies is outlined in the Customs to Customs cooperation pillar (Pillar 1) of the SAFE Framework of Standards and serves one of the key objectives of SAFE - to promote the seamless movement of goods through secure international trade supply chains. As per standard 3 of Pillar 1 of the SAFE Framework of Standards, non-intrusive inspection equipment and radiation detection equipment should be available and used for conducting inspections, where available and in accordance with risk assessment. The standard also prescribes that the equipment is necessary to inspect high risk containers or cargo quickly, without disrupting the flow of legitimate trade.

During the workshop closing ceremony, the Director of Customs at the MRA, Vivekanand Ramburun, highlighted the importance of the sharing of experience, knowledge and intelligence for enhancing the effectiveness of NII, and thanked the WCO Secretariat and experts for the valuable support.