25 – 29 April 2016

Under the sponsorship of the Japan Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF- Japan), a World Customs Organization (WCO) Accreditation Workshop for Technical Operational Advisers (TOAs) in the area of the WCO Time Release Study (TRS) was held at the WCO Headquarters in Brussels, from 25 to 29 April 2016. This Workshop was dedicated to French speaking Customs officials and was attended by participants from all 6 WCO regions.

The event was organized as part of the WCO strategic approach to obtain a greater number of experts to assist WCO Members in conducting TRS.

During the workshop, WCO facilitators presented a general overview of the organization of a TRS, and subsequently focused on TRS objectives, challenges, opportunities and ways forward.

11 Customs officials from all 6 WCO regions participated in the workshop and were continuously assessed against a set of criteria that included their overall knowledge and strategic application of key WCO instruments and tools, their level of technical expertise, their ability to support Member administrations in preparing and conducting a TRS and their ability to represent the WCO and facilitate discussions with Directors general of Customs and senior Customs officials.

At the end of the event, several participants successfully completed step 1 of the accreditation process as they demonstrated their potential to become TOAs in the area of TRS. The successful candidates will be invited by the WCO to co-facilitate a technical assistance mission in the area of TRS and complete their process of accreditation. Afterwards, they will be able to support and participate in the WCO’s capacity building activities.