A strong border relies on professional, knowledgeable, vigilant and decisive customs officers, SRC staff say

The customs service also plays an important role in biodiversity conservation, as customs controls help prevent the illegal movement of wild animals and rare plants across borders. Tackling this activity is a significant part of COP17’s agenda.

Speaking to Armenpress, State Revenue Committee (SRC) employees Lilit Ghazaryan and Mariam Titizyan discussed this issue, the features of the Green Customs Initiative, customs officers’ preparedness to prevent the illegal movement of wild animals and plants, and smuggling cases and risks.

“The Green Customs Initiative operates under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme, and its underlying purpose is to develop educational programmes focused on building customs officers’ capabilities. This unprecedented initiative was established in 2004, while a tripartite memorandum was signed in 2021 between the University of Economics, the Ministry of Environment and the State Revenue Committee to introduce customs administration as a subject taught to students,” Ghazaryan said.

She added that knowledge was essential for customs officers to understand the complexities involved in moving animals and plants across borders. She said knowledgeable customs officers were effective officers, and training courses therefore sought to provide SRC employees with as much support as possible so they would not feel they were working alone.

Ghazaryan said a strong border depended on professional, knowledgeable, vigilant and decisive customs officers.

Mariam Titizyan said the SRC’s Anti-Smuggling Department, alongside its other duties, carried out extensive work to prevent the illegal movement of wild animals and rare plants. This included analysing information and examining potential risks to enable targeted customs controls.

“When the customs service works around the clock and conducts targeted operations, it first prevents violations and then detects them. It is important for every customs officer to be able to identify goods crossing the border, assess the risks and examine the documents relating to their acquisition,” Titizyan said.