Sri Lanka: Second Steering Committee Meeting of the Container Control Programme held in Colombo

Sri Lanka/May 22, 2018: The Second Steering Committee Meeting of the UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme (CCP) Sri Lanka was held on 22 May 2018 in Colombo, continuing to provide the framework for implementation of the Programme in the country. The CCP is a long-standing joint capacity building programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

The Director General of Customs Sri Lanka, Mrs. P. S. M. Charles, the UNODC Representative for South Asia, Mr. Sergey Kapinos and 15 senior representatives from Sri Lanka Customs met to discuss the way in which they can continue the positive implementation of the Container Control Programme in the seaport as well as in the International Airport in Colombo.

The Meeting stressed that coordinated contribution by the Government of Sri Lanka, UNODC and WCO to strategic, operational and funding areas of the Programme will ensure the continuation of successful law enforcement work in the fight against illegal cross-border trafficking activities.   

All participants concurred on the importance of the Container Control Programme in Sri Lanka as an additional layer to support the strengthening of international supply chain security by building national border administrations' capacities to tackle threats related to sea, land and air cargo.

Since nowadays no country can do successful law enforcement work in isolation, distinct attention was dedicated to aspects of cooperation with other countries in South Asia to facilitate cross border information exchange and cooperation. Furthermore it was decided that the Programme continues to back cooperation between private and public sectors which brings greater efficiency related to cargo controls.