Belgrade, Serbia, 27-28 September 2022 - UNODC Global Firearms Programme (GFP) and UNODC-World Customs Organization (WCO) Container Control Programme (CCP) jointly organized a regional “Customs Cross-border Cooperation in the Western Balkans“ meeting for Customs Administrations from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia to review the results of bi-lateral operations on countering illicit goods trafficking that took place between 2021 and 2022.
The delegations discussed the various modalities for bi-lateral and multi-lateral operations in relation to the existing trends of trafficking and shared information about new, anticipated threats that will be relevant for the region. Based on shared experience and results achieved, several lessons learned and good practices were identified to ensure effective border management, including the signing of a bi-lateral Memorandum of Understanding between jurisdictions to facilitate communication and cooperation among law enforcement authorities, the establishment of contact points in customs administrations for information exchange purposes.
The regional meeting was also attended by the officials from HM Revenue & Customs, the United Kingdom's tax, payments, and customs authority, a Customs Attaché from the French Embassy in Serbia, a Customs Attaché from the German Embassy in Croatia, and a representative from the Universal Postal Union.
The activities of UNODC GFP in the framework of the HALT project are supported by Germany, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, France and Norway, and the EU through UN’s Western Balkans SALW Control Roadmap Trust Fund. The activities of the CCP in cooperation with the AIRCOP and the UNODC Regional Programme for South Eastern Europe are currently implemented in South Eastern Europe under the framework of the EU-UNODC joint action on enhanced border control with the funding from the European Union.
