At the invitation of the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Committee, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya addressed the 15 Members of the Committee at United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York, United States, on Thursday 22 February 2018.

The UN Counter-Terrorism Committee was established following the adoption of Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning counter-terrorism.  In partnership with the WCO, the Committee aims to assist Member States in implementing a range of Security Council resolutions with respect to, inter alia, denying terrorists access to weapons and improvised explosive device (IED) components, arms trafficking, countering the financing of terrorism, and introducing advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data.

Secretary General Mikuriya briefed the Committee on the WCO Security Programme, the impact of Council resolutions adopted by the WCO with respect to counter-terrorism, and ways to further strengthen cooperation between the WCO and the Counter-Terrorism Committee.

He made particular reference to the WCO’s Punta Cana Resolution (2015), which recognizes that Customs authorities are the first line of defence against many criminal and violent extremist and terrorist organizations.  He highlighted the central role of Customs in border security through management and oversight of the movement of goods, money, people and means of transport across borders.

The Secretary General went on to inform the Committee that the WCO has adopted a wide range of tools, instruments and programmes including the SAFE Framework of Standards, Programme Global Shield (PGS) and the Strategic Control Enforcement Programme (STCE).  Emphasizing the potential of API/PNR , he invited those present to encourage their governments to recognize the role of Customs and contribute to the fight against terrorism by putting in place an adequate legal basis for Customs to operate effectively, and through the provision of donor funding for capacity building.

Following his intervention, many Members of the Committee pledged to convey the Secretary General’s request to their governments and confirmed their support for continuing cooperation.

While at UN Headquarters, Secretary General Mikuriya also met with senior UN staff including Ms. Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to UN Secretary General António Guterres, and Ms. Michèle Coninsx, Executive Director of the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED), to discuss synergies and complementarities between the work of various UN bodies and the WCO.