On June 12, 2025, an online meeting of the World Customs Organization Virtual Working Group on Gender Equality and Diversity in Customs (WCO VWG GED) took place. The meeting was chaired by an official of the State Customs Service of Ukraine (SCSU), specifically from the Department for Specialized Training and Canine Services of the SCSU. Also participating was the Deputy Director of the Department – Head of the HR Management Directorate of the HR Department, who serves as the SCSU Advisor on Ensuring Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women and Men, and Preventing and Combating Gender-based Violence. It’s worth noting that the SCSU has been an active participant in this group since 2022.
The meeting was attended by representatives from the WCO Secretariat, the European Union, WCO Regional Offices for Capacity Building for the Asia-Pacific Region, and West and Central Africa, as well as representatives from 42 WCO member countries. These included: Azerbaijan, Argentina, Australia, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Namibia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Dominican Republic, South Africa, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, United Kingdom, and Zambia.
During the meeting, the WCO Secretariat presented the latest progress in the WCO’s work on promoting GED, as well as the results of the 2025 annual WCO survey. Specifically, discussions covered the formation of the third edition of the GED Compendium in Customs, the current status of the “Women in Customs” Communication Campaign, which features 13 interviews published on the WCO website with representatives from 12 countries (Jamaica, Sao Tome and Principe, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Germany, Brazil, Morocco, Cambodia, Botswana, Turkey, Lebanon), the newly developed guiding principles for recognized GED experts, updates to the restricted folder of the WCO VWG GED on the CLiKC! WCO platform.
In addition, officials from the customs administrations of Chile and Greece shared their achievements in promoting gender equality, contributing to the international exchange of best practices. At the end of the meeting, elections were held for the Chair and Vice-Chair of the WCO VWG GED for 2025-2026.
