Member states of the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels have begun debating potential amendments to the Istanbul Convention on Temporary Admission to modernize and strengthen member states’ approach to the customs treatment of humanitarian relief in situations of crisis.
The Istanbul Convention was adopted in 1990 with the aim to facilitate temporary admission of goods by simplifying and harmonizing procedures, in pursuit of economic as well as humanitarian objectives. It allows for certain items to be imported without duties in the event that they are intended to be re-exported from the countries. Annex B9 to the Convention addresses the importation of relief items in situations of crisis.
At the 14th Meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Istanbul Convention on 20 to 22 April 2015, member states discussed a proposal from Turkey to amend the annex. The proposed text would allow for the prompt temporary consignment and re-exportation of disaster relief, goods and equipment in international disaster relief and initial recovery assistance.
The proposal received general support from member states and after a general debate it was decided to carry on discussions with a view to adopt an amendment during the next Meeting of the Administrative Committee. As the Turkish delegate Kerim Tokgöz expressed, “although the final decision will be the matter of consultations at the Administrative Committee, Turkey has suggested to a great extent a responsive text to the needs of the international humanitarian community”.
Both OCHA and IFRC were invited as observers to present their views on the need to update this key customs international framework for the facilitation of international humanitarian relief. OCHA delegate Virginie Bohl welcomed the Turkish proposal and expressed that “the changes and updates to be considered are based on national experiences, feedback and needs expressed during joint WCO/OCHA/IFRC seminars and by actors in the humanitarian field”.
Hopefully soon the international community will be able to take advantage of a simplified legal instrument that would allow for the swift temporary consignment of humanitarian relief items in disaster-struck countries.