In response to the needs of its members, the World Customs Organization (WCO) prepared the «Guide for frontline customs officers on key multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)» to contribute to the fight against environmental crimes, in particular illegal wildlife trade, illegal trade in hazardous waste and other waste, ozone-depleting substances and illegal trade in timber.
Thus, the WCO launched this Thursday (23.12.2021) such a publication on aspects related to key multilateral environmental agreements, namely: the Basel Convention, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Cartagena Protocol, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Montreal Protocol.
Illegal trade in commodities such as hazardous waste, wildlife, modified living organisms, chemical weapons and ozone-depleting substances poses a huge threat to the environment. In light of this, the international community developed a series of multilateral environmental agreements that provide a framework for achieving specific environmental objectives.
It should be noted that customs play a crucial role in the implementation of these agreements, as they are strategically located at borders. In this regard, the WCO Guide provides customs officials with an overview of some of the main conventions to help them detect and prevent illegal trade in environmentally sensitive goods.
The initiative received technical support from organizations working in the area of combating environmental crime: the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, the Cartagena Protocol, the Chemical Weapons Convention/Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the CITES Secretariat, and OzonAction. In addition, its development was funded by the World Bank, the Government of Japan and the United Kingdom under the auspices of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC).
In particular, the «Guide for frontline customs officers on key multilateral environmental agreements» It facilitates the implementation of important aspects of these international agreements in the daily work of agents, at the same time, it demonstrates the commitment of Customs around the world to address these crimes that cover different dimensions of sustainable development related to the well-being and protection of society.WCO Press Release)
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
