The WCO INAMA Project focuses on strengthening the enforcement capacity of targeted Customs administrations in Sub-Saharan Africa, while focusing on the illegal trade in wildlife (fauna and flora) and in particular endangered species as defined by CITES. The project is the follow up of previous initiatives implemented by the WCO and funded by Sweden.
The current WCO INAMA project, with a total duration of 5 years, is funded by the following Development Partners: Sweden; the U.S. Department of State; the German Federal Enterprise for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the CITES Secretariat (through funds provided by the Government of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland via DEFRA).
In the framework of this project, from 26th to 28th January 2015 has been held in Bangkok a Workshop on "Controlled Deliveries of Illegally Traded Wildlife Products" funded by the CITES Secretariat.
Picking up on lessons learned from a previous International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) Controlled Delivery workshop, this workshop focused on those countries that have the legal framework in place to conduct controlled deliveries.
The workshop was designed for Customs officers and other relevant actors in the implementation of controlled deliveries (e.g. police, prosecutors, wildlife authorities).
The Agenda included, among others:
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The exchange of best practices;
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Development of procedures and guidelines on Controlled Delivery, etc.
More than 30 delegates from Customs administrations and other relevant institutions (e.g. Wildlife Authorities, Police etc.) from eight WCO Members attended the Workshop (China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, Zambia).
Hosted by the Thai Customs Administration, the workshop benefited from the active participation of experts from the World Customs Organization, German Customs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the ASEAN Wildlife and Enforcement Network and INTERPOL.