On behalf of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council, I would like to convey sincere condolences to the dear wife, family, friends and Customs fraternity of St. Kitts, Nevis and beyond, on the passing from this life of Mr. Donald Cable, retired Comptroller, of St. Kitts, Nevis Customs and Excise. Mr. Cable signed the CCLEC…
On November 1st 2019, the Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to St. Lucia, His excellency Alejandro Marin, deposited Cuba’s Instrument of Ratification of the Caribbean Customs Organisation (CCO) Treaty at the CCLEC Secretariat. The CCO Treaty was signed by fourteen countries on May 22nd, 2019 in Havana and will enter into force three months…
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) extends its heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of the Bahamas for the tragic loss of lives and widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian on Sunday 1st September 2019. The devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian is still unfolding but images and news from the Bahamas tell…
The new Regional Clearance System, RCS2019, will be deployed at the end of August and to support this initiative, the CCLEC convened a train-the-trainer seminar for regional Customs officers in St Lucia from July 29-31, 2019.
The seminar which was jointly sponsored by UKBF/ODA and CCLEC aimed at building local capacity to deliver RCS training. Eighteen officers from the English and Spanish speaking Caribbean were in attendance. In his opening remarks, the CCLEC Permanent Secretary, Mr Albert Sandy, reminded the participants that the system was commissioned by CCLEC members in 2000 because it was recognized then that there was a need to collect data on pleasure vessels plying the region for security purposes. The system however has evolved over the years and now also functions as an administrative tool for facilitating pleasure vessels, crew and passengers visiting the region.
The CCLEC 41st Conference was held in Havana, Cuba on May 22-24, 2019 under the theme
‘The Pathway to Success: Strength through Unity’. This event was marked by the historical signing of the treaty which will establish the Caribbean Customs Organization (CCO).
The signing ceremony was attended by high level government officials including, on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Menno Snel, Minister for Finance of Taxation and Customs of the Netherlands, Mrs Xiomara Ruiz-Maduro, Minister of Finance, Economic Affairs and Culture of Aruba, Mr Kenneth Gijsbertha, Minister of Finance of Curacao, and Mr Cornelius de Weever, Minister of Justice of Sint Maarten, who all signed for their respective countries. Ambassador to Cuba, Mr Andrew Brent, signed on behalf of the Bahamas, and Mr Antony Stokes, UK’s Ambassador to Cuba, signed on behalf of Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Representatives from Customs, Mr Raju Boddu, Comptroller of Customs for Antigua, Mr Nelson E. Cordovés Reyes, Head of Customs for Cuba, Mr Cesar Zorrilla, Manager of the Technical Deliberative Department of the General Customs Directorate for the Dominican Republic, and Mr Fritz Alcindor, Deputy Director General of Haiti signed on behalf of their respective governments.
After three decades of operating under an MOU, members of the Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) agreed that it was of paramount importance, given the opportunities and challenges presented by technological advancements, to formalize the legal basis for sharing information. The MOU to establish the CCLEC was signed in 1989, an MOU which, although not legally binding, served the organization in meeting its objectives to improve the overall professionalism of its members through cooperation, sharing of best practices, human resource development, modernization, automation, harmonization of processes and procedures and information/intelligence sharing. However, global security challenges, the need for automatic sharing of information and the advent of several new trade arrangements means that the CCLEC’s role will become more complex. To this end, the need for a more robust legally binding mechanism to improve information and intelligence exchange was necessary.
On behalf of the CCLEC Secretariat and Executive Committee I convey our deepest condolences to the family, friends and Customs colleagues of Miss Camille Garrick of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Customs and Excise Department, on her recent decease at such a tender age. The loss of such a dear friend and co worker…
RULES: Only current employees of Customs administrations that are members of CCLEC are eligible to compete Competition is open to all age groups Proof of employment is required with submission (a copy of Staff ID will suffice) Submissions received after midnight (Atlantic Standard Time) on 12th April 2019 will not be considered GUIDELINES Design must be original…
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council (CCLEC) with funding from the United Kingdom Border Force (UKBF) conducted a Middle Management and Operational Leadership Course, aimed at Supervisory staff of member Customs administrations. This course was delivered at the Crown Plaza Hotel, Miami from 12th -14th February 2019. Eighteen middle managers from the Greater Antilles, Dutch Antilles, the OECS, Central and South America, including Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Guyana attended.
CARMS a UK based human resource development company was contracted to deliver the training course. CARMS tutors comprised academic and ex law enforcement professionals, with many years of experience in consultancy, training delivery, mentoring, and support services.
The following topics and learning outcomes which were demonstrably achieved were based on European Union Management Competencies.
The Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council congratulates its member administrations and the global Customs community on its observance of International Customs Day 2019.
Customs administrations in various forms have existed from time immemorial. Governments establish Customs and Excise departments for the purposes of tax collection, trade facilitation, regulation of the importation/exportation of restricted and prohibited goods, the protection of society and in more recent times terrorism detection and interdiction.
The World Customs Organization’s slogan for International Customs Day (ICD) 2019 is “SMART borders for seamless Trade, Travel and Transport.” CCLEC readily adopts same and challenges all its members to embrace these principles and strive to implement practices and processes that bring smart borders into realization.
The acronym SMART stands for: Secure, Measurable, Automated, Risk Management-based and Technology-driven. It requires Customs to innovatively drive the development of frameworks, standards and practices both academically and practically, that will greatly enhance the speed of processing and facilitating the delivery of goods, passengers and conveyances, while securing same. This creates a more enabling economic environment for national development, equity in trade and societal protections can produce safe and productive societies.