Container Control Programme receives BIC Award

The Bureau International des Containers (BIC) is pleased to announce that the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) has won the 2018 BIC Award which was recently presented at the World Customs Organization headquarters in Brussels.
The Container Control Programme (CCP) is a program run jointly by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The CCP helps strengthen international supply chain security by building the capacities of national border agencies in tackling threats related to sea, land and air cargo. It develops cooperation among national law enforcement authorities and private sector entities such as port operators and shipping lines.
The CCP’s efforts have resulted in seizures of a wide range of prohibited goods, such as weapons, proceeds of fisheries, forest, wildlife and other environmental crimes, prohibited drugs, strategic goods, falsified or unlicensed medicines, precursors for drugs and weapons, cigarettes, and goods which are counterfeit or otherwise violate intellectual property law.
Mr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO and Mr. John Brandolino, Director, Division for Treaty Affairs of the UNODC, received the BIC award on the opening day of the annual Enforcement Committee meeting on the 11th March 2019 at the World Customs Organization headquarters in Brussels.
Each year, the BIC’s Board of Directors select a single candidate from a pool of industry nominees. The BIC award honors individuals or organizations for notable contributions to safety, security, standardization, or sustainability in containerized transportation.
Presenting the BIC Award alongside Douglas Owen, Secretary General of the BIC, Giordano Bruno Guerrini, the BIC Chairman of the Board commented: “The Container Control Program has been selected for its successes in improving security and mitigating smuggling in container transportation. The BIC believes that the capacity-building efforts of the CCP, and its important work in promoting advanced risk-assessment around the world, are to be applauded and encouraged.”
At present, the CCP is operational in 50 countries and has initiated activities in 12 other countries. More than 80 Port Control Units (PCUs) and Air Cargo Control Units (ACCUs) have been established since the CCP’s inception in 2004.
These inter-agency units are equipped to exchange information with their counterparts in other countries using a secure communication application, developed by the WCO, called ContainerComm. It provides PCUs and ACCUs with access to a wealth of information that allows users to track, profile and identify high risk containers, verify their identification numbers and send out alerts to other PCUs and ACCUs.
At the presentation Mr. Mikuriya and Mr. Brandolino were accompanied by the CCP senior programme coordinators from the two organizations, Mr. Norbert Steilen of the WCO and Mr. Ketil Ottersen of the UNODC.
On this occasion, WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya stated that, “Since its start in 2004, the CCP has been a perfect example of the excellent cooperation between the two international organizations in the fight against illicit trafficking. For 15 years, CCP has maintained a delicate balance between protecting public health and safety and facilitating trade in order to ensure the seemless processing of goods at borders. This BIC award recognizes the effectiveness of CCP’s approach in fostering a constructive dialogue between Customs, other law enforcement entities and the trade community to meet common goals. We are honoured to receive this award from a long-standing partner of the World Customs Organization.”
Mr. John Brandolino, Director, Division for Treaty Affairs of the UNODC, emphasized that, “Transnational organized crime groups and terrorists conceal their activities by exploiting the sheer scale, diversity and complexity of global commerce.
Accordingly, an efficient, holistic, and multi-sectoral response is needed. The Container Control Programme is a good example of this approach. The CCP consistently yields seizures of all kinds of illicit goods, utilizing modern information-sharing and risk-profiling methodologies to efficiently target high-risk containers and minimize the disruption to legitimate trade. I am pleased to see them receive the BIC award in recognition of these efforts.”
The global coordinators of WCO and UNODC highlighted that, “WCO and UNODC are honoured to receive this award from the BIC. Such an acknowledgement is a testament to the skill and determination of our national counterparts and staff–we are proud of this cooperation . We would like to express our gratitude for the recognition of the Programme’s, and hence both Organizations’, contribution to international efforts against transnational organized crime.”
For more details about CCP, visit http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/activities-and-programmes/drugs-programme/unodc_wco_container_control_programme.aspx and https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/drug-trafficking/container-control-programme.html
For more information about the BIC, visit www.bic-code.org