Page 34 - IB APR 2017

Advertorial
Oceania Customs Organisation

Effective

Border

Management

by Laisiana Tugaga
and Heilala Erenavula
LAW enforcement and border security
has been an important area of focus for
Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO)
given that effective border management
is needed to facilitate trade in goods and
services and that many of our Pacific
Island economies still depend heav-
ily upon revenue from duties imposed
at the border. But our Pacific regions
because of our porous borders remain
prone to illegal border activities and
individual customs administrations are
not able to manage these problems on
their own.
The OCO exists to facilitate and
where appropriate help administrations
to align with customs international
standards and best practice leading
to greater economic prosperity and
increased border security within the
Oceania region. The Secretariat ppro- Above: Delegates to the OCO Regional Workshop on Customs Modernisation and Reforms in November, 2016, Photo: OCO
vides support to members in develop-
ing, coordinating and implementing
activities in line with members’ man-
dates and advising members on key
Customs issues. These amongst others
include; provide technical advice to
members on customs and other related
matters, assist in the development and
implementation of harmonized Customs
policies and instruments, facilitate the
cooperation and information exchange
between OCO Customs administrations
and identify cross-cutting issues with
regional and international partners and
promote collaborations. Head of Secretariat Seve Paeniu with Dr Corrine Capuano, WHO representative in the South Pacific
The World Customs Organization(WCO) the operational capacity of member ning and operations.
is dedicating 2017 to promoting data administrations to collect, collate and
analysis under the slogan” Data Analy- analyze data for efficient border control. PARTNERSHIPS
sis for Effective Border Management”. The traditional methods for detecting
On 26 January, the OCO joined the rest of and managing risks have served many The OCO provides technical assistance
the world customs family in celebrating administrations well, but there exists and training to members in all areas of
the International Customs Day. Inter- new opportunities to optimize the use Customs operations. In designing its
national Customs Day theme resonates of data to enable OCO members to drive capacity building approach, OCO does
well with the OCO strategy to strengthen priority setting, performance manage- not only look at the regional initiatives
ment, compliance strategy, budget plan- but also recognises that each country’s

34 Islands Business, April 2017