The World Customs Organization (WCO) hosted the 31st Meeting of Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs) which took place at its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, from 30 January to 1 February 2024.
The WCO's major initiative brought together those responsible for the collection, analysis and sharing of data related to customs control, to discuss a wide range of topics, including intelligence gathering, law enforcement management and governance of the RILO Global Network.
Aimed at safeguarding international trade, the meeting “was of significant importance” since “it was the first opportunity - after the Customs Control Network Management Team Meeting in 2023 - aimed at addressing a calendar broader approach that incorporated both the RILO and the Customs Control Network (CEN),” the Organization said.
Thus, the talks allowed for a commitment to carry out a comprehensive review of the Recommendation document. RILO, discuss necessary amendments to the terms of reference of the RILO Global Meeting and explore avenues for evaluating the performance of the RILOs.
In the field of issues of the CEN, The meeting was also an occasion to further explore the use of applications, advances in CEN data visualisation, the evaluation of data quality initiatives and to decide on the launch of a CEN compendium showcasing interesting case studies, to stimulate Members' interest in such strategic and operational issues.
Additionally, issues related to the Location System were discussed. load (CTS), now managed by the WCO CEN Programme. At the same time, the assessment report on the impact of CTS and the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) was reviewed, exploring ways in which these tools can be made interoperable with a view to strengthening Customs control capabilities.
The WCO also listened to cooperating organizations such as the Universal Postal Union (UPU), who explored possible avenues to enhance collaboration and synergies, in line with the 2024 theme of “Customs engages traditional and new partners with purpose”.
RILO Network
Currently, the RILO Network has 12 offices which provide effective coverage in all six WCO regions. Such RILO offices are located in the following territories: Eastern and Central Europe, Western Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), North Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Eastern and Southern Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Central America and South America. (WCO News)
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