As part of the COPES^[1] Programme, a second Train-the-Trainer Workshop was held from 19 to 23 February 2018 in Paris, organized in partnership with French Customs.

This event is part of the process of broad promotion of the COPES concept in the six WCO regions, and this workshop included 12 French-speaking participants from Benin, Burkina Faso, Haiti, France, Niger and Senegal.  It was an opportunity for them to gain high-level experience in the techniques of running courses, facilitating learning and teaching.  The participants were also called upon to demonstrate their strategic and operational competencies in enforcement and their ability to work in an international environment.

The COPES Expert Trainers are specialized in Customs issues.  They must have strong expertise in risk analysis, intelligence gathering, field operations, fraud detection, evidence collection, seizures and administrative and/or judicial investigations.  With their experience as trainers, they must also be capable of presenting and promoting good professional practice in line with WCO standards.

In accrediting COPES Expert Trainers, the ultimate objective is to provide the organization’s Members with robust support for building the capacity of their staff.  In this case, it is a question of sharing expertise with services that are keen to perfect their skills in the area of border security and the associated challenges, or seeking to boost their enforcement regime.  The services concerned are all those that are active in the control of the movement of goods, people and capital at the borders.

For more information on the COPES Programme, please contact Mr. Gilles Thomas (gilles.thomas@wcoomd.org).