Advanced sub-regional workshop on Gender Equality and Diversity (GED) delivered for four countries in West Africa

From 22 to 26 April 2024, the WCO delivered an advanced workshop on Gender Equality and Diversity (GED) in Abuja, Nigeria, for a group of four Customs Administrations from West Africa (the Gambia, Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria).

This workshop was organized under the framework of the West Africa Security Project (WASP) - gender equality component, a partnership between the WCO and the German Central Customs Authority, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Thanks to effective collaboration, the workshop was funded jointly with the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme and the Sida-WCO Trade Facilitation and Customs Modernization Programme, which enabled the participation of four officers from the Liberia Revenue Authority and the valuable contribution of two facilitators’ from Canada and Zimbabwe, who are candidates to the WCO pool of Recognized GED experts in Customs.

The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to enhance their knowledge of the concepts of gender mainstreaming and inclusion and how they can be implemented on a cross-cutting basis within Customs administrations with the help of the WCO Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool (GEOAT).

The workshop had a strong focus on the links between Gender and Security. Among the issues discussed were the differences in how women and men experience conflict, insecurity, and threats and how this could be considered in security policies. The advantages of having more women in security-related positions were also addressed, including how this could be further promoted through increased consideration of work-life balance aspects and improvements in infrastructure. Participants were also provided the opportunity to discuss examples of human rights violations at the border, how these could be prevented, and how gender stereotypes could impact enforcement operations. The objectives of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 – the Women, Peace and Security agenda and their relevance for Customs were also addressed.

The five-day interactive workshop enabled delegates to increase their knowledge of the WCO tools promoting GED in Customs, particularly the GEOAT and its new template, which allows Customs Administrations to conduct their organizational self-assessment, identifying strengths and gaps while also preparing Administrations in drafting dedicated GED action plans.

As a result of the exercises carried out during the week, all four Customs delegations presented updated versions of their GED Action plans on the last day of the workshop, which each Administration will work further on to implement in the coming months.

The WCO was also pleased to welcome a representative from the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja, who presented on a project targeting women cross-border traders and how their specific challenges could be addressed in trade facilitation and security policies. The WCO looks forward to continuing to work closely with its Members to advance the GED agenda. For more information about this activity and the WCO’s work on GED, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.