Rambling in Nepal

Donnerstag, 28 Aug 2008

Written by Miriam Gonzalez

It is ten to seven in the morning and I have 10 customs officers in front of me. And six quarantine officials. And a few other civil and military authorities of the second largest entry point in Nepal, Birgunj.

They all wake up earlier than normal today not to miss the session summoned by the Province Governor (highest civil authority in the province). It is an important one, they had heard, some people from Kathmandu are coming to talk about a recent change in the customs legislation that will have a direct impact in their every day operations.

They keep very quiet, looking with curiosity at the presenters, which are busy arranging the projectors and materials… Shishir is the first one to break the ice. After all, he worked here for eight years as a customs officer before being promoted to the central office. He is at ease: not only he knows the audience, also the subject inside out. He participated in the implementation programme of the Nepalese Customs Facilitation Agreement in Emergency Humanitarian Assistance (after the Nepalese Government signed it in May 2007), and, as the practical and hands-on person he is, he is not afraid of promoting its benefits and challenging those who are resilient to use it…

He explains to its customs fellows how their department has opened up and looked beyond their borders in order to join the modernisation trend the customs are currently going through. Not only is Nepal trying to find funds to have more and better IT systems in place (which would make possible electronic declaration in all customs offices), but also is actively participating in the World Customs Organization’s tariff and valuation programmes.

Nepal cannot stay stuck in the past, proactive measures are needed. Especially being a disasters-prone country. This is the reason why our government, he goes on, signed an agreement with the United Nations on the subject of customs and emergency assistance. Because we want to be ready if we have to face a disaster so big that we need to call for international assistance to cope with it. In that case, the humanitarian organizations will start relief operations and try to import the relief consignments our people need. We need to begin making everyone aware that those consignments, brought by those organizations, should not find any border closed. Or even semi-closed.

The message is clear… how do they take it? With relief. They constantly have to deal with clearance requests similar to the one described, and now finally they have a legal instrument and clear instructions on how to operate.

We all breathe after seeing the audience is open to what we have to present to them, and we go on with the technical details:  

• How and who is going to declare the state of emergency and how that is going to be communicated
• What is and what is not a relief consignment
• What documents will be required for its customs clearance
• Can they run examinations on them?
• What organizations will be working in the relief operation and how are going to prove it?

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