The UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme discusses priorities and sets up the Inter-Regional
Group on Urgent Queries
Inter-Regional Expert-Level Meeting
Tashkent (UZBEKISTAN), 5 March 2022 – In March 2022, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia held an Inter-Regional Expert-Level Meeting. This activity was conducted under the Inter-Regional Network of Customs Authorities and Port Control Units (IREN) of the UNODC-World Customs Organization (WCO) Container Control Programme (CCP) jointly with the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The meeting launched the permanent Inter-Regional Group on Urgent Queries under the IREN. The Group seeks to improve liaison and ensure swift communication among the Port and Air Cargo Control Units (PCUs/ACCUs), facilitate information exchange and discuss IREN accomplishments and needs. It brought together over 40 experts from Customs services and other competent authorities of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as representatives and experts from UNODC and WCO.
Welcoming the meeting participants, Ashita Mittal, the UNODC Regional Representative for Central Asia, stressed that the engagement of so many countries in the meeting shows a strong united alliance in combatting prohibited drugs, organized crime, and terrorism. Ms. Mittal underlined the following: CCP represents a vital element of the comprehensive strategic approach against drugs, crime, and terrorism, and plays an essential role in the UNODC’s border security initiatives in the region along with Border Liaison Offices, Interagency Mobile Teams, Border Outposts, CARICC, and others. She concluded by expressing the UNODC`s strong and continuous commitment to further its close work with all CCP stakeholders by addressing their priorities and needs in their respective regions, and expressed her gratitude to CCP donors for their ongoing support of the Programme.
In his welcoming remarks, Ketil Ottersen, UNODC Senior Programme Coordinator, thanked the Government of Uzbekistan and the State Customs Committee for hosting the meeting. Mr. Ottersen explained that the CCP's global outreach (being implemented across five continents in 73 countries) has resulted in a series of notable successes against criminal networks in 2021. The launch and successful operation of the IREN Inter-Regional Group on Urgent Queries, aimed at facilitating rapid information exchange among participating countries and ACCUs/PCUs, would be a step towards the IREN`s increased operationalization, efficiency, and sustainability.