Background
Coordinated border management (CBM) is now recognized by the Customs community as a potential solution for the challenges that the 21st century presents especially with respect to efficient and effective border management. Its importance resulted in the concept being included in the WCO Council’s strategic policy on Customs in the 21st Century that was adopted in June 2008 where it is listed as one of the 10 key building blocks for managing borders in today’s environment.
A coordinated approach by border control agencies lays at the heart of the CBM concept, in the context of seeking greater efficiencies in managing trade and travel flows, while maintaining a balance with security requirements. The term gives prominence to the general principle of coordination of policies, programmes and delivery among cross-border regulatory agencies rather than favouring any single solution.
Our Experience
We have performed CBM assignments in Central Asia, Ukraine and Moldova and South Asia encompassing Customs and a myriad of other border agencies, such as: Border Guards, Police, Immigration, Commerce, Industry, Transport, Sanitary, Health, Veterinary, etc.
Our Services
We cover the full range on CBM casework including:
- Legal Basis of CBM: Identification of the various legal enablers that provide for enhanced CBM, or legal gaps that prevents effective CBM.
- Information Technology: Assessment of areas where data harmonization can lead to greater simplifications for government and trade, and where greater system interoperability can lead to more efficient systems and greater alignment with the physical flow of goods.
- Processes: Mapping the existing border processes so that bottlenecks and inefficiencies can be identified and re-solved.
- Human resources & training: Establishing the current state of competencies among participating agencies to identify capacity gaps and new skills needed.