Cleveland Museum of Art · CC0 1.0A simple framework for practical work
The agreement concluded between OIMAP and the WCO in 2016 has a practical aim: to enable customs officers to recognise and stop illicit cultural property. It comprises ten articles and sets out each partner's commitments.
It covers four areas: training, identification tools, information exchange and coordinated operations. It also specifies governance and confidentiality rules.
This page summarises its provisions and how they are applied.
The OIMAP – WCO agreement in figures
Source: OIMAP Heritage Protection Department.
OIMAP's commitments
OIMAP undertakes to design training modules, to produce identification sheets, to give approved customs administrations access to the BIOP database, to supply experts for operations and to inform the WCO of developments in trafficking networks.
It also undertakes to adapt its tools to customs nomenclatures, so that officers can link an object to a Harmonised System code and check it through familiar procedures.
The WCO's commitments
The WCO undertakes to relay the tools in its network, to build cultural property into its training programmes, to facilitate exchanges of information between administrations and to involve OIMAP in the operations it coordinates.
It also makes available its secure exchange systems, its analysts and its evaluation mechanisms, which make it possible to track the impact of actions.
Governance and follow-up
A joint committee meets once a year to evaluate the results and set priorities. A technical working group brings together the two organisations' correspondents each quarter. Results are published in the cooperation's annual report.
The agreement is evaluated every two years and may be amended by supplement. It was supplemented in 2021 by an amendment on identification sheets and in 2023 by an amendment on online training.
A framework that enables projects
On the basis of the agreement, regional projects are launched: a programme on West African ports, a project on Central Asian transit routes, a module for postal sorting centres. Each is covered by a funding agreement and an evaluation.
OIMAP's Protection Fund finances part of it, with contributions from donor States and foundations. The results are presented to the Assembly.
Ten articles in brief
| Articles | Purpose |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | Purpose, definitions |
| 3 to 4 | Training |
| 5 to 6 | Identification tools |
| 7 | Exchange of information |
| 8 | Coordinated operations |
| 9 | Confidentiality |
| 10 | Duration and evaluation |
Landmarks
- Negotiation
Five months.
- Signature
Entry into force.
- First evaluation
Positive results.
- Amendment No. 1
Identification sheets.
- Amendment No. 2
Online training.
An agreement, States
Taking part as an administration or as an officer
Administration
National accession- Designates a correspondent
- Integrates the tools
- Reports back
Institutional framework.
Officer
Individual training- Follows a module
- Uses the sheets
- Feeds back lessons learned
Operational framework.
Implementing the agreement in a State
- Designate
Name the correspondent.
- Plan
Draw up a training plan.
- Equip
Install the tools.
- Implement
Train and check.
- Assess
Track the results.
Elements of a national plan
A project manager
« The agreement is short, but it organises hundreds of training days a year. That is its strength. »
Vocabulary of the agreement
- Harmonised System
- International customs nomenclature.
- Customs correspondent
- Contact person of an administration.
- Amendment
- Supplement to an agreement.
- Joint committee
- Body common to the two organisations.
Frequently asked questions
Is the agreement public?
Its summary is.
How does my State join?
By a request from its customs administration.
How much does joining cost?
Nothing for Member States.
Where can I see the controls?
See Border controls.
Useful documents
Contacts
Related pages
Cooperation with the WCOThe agreement with the World Customs Organization: border controls, training of customs officers and identification tools.›
Border controlsHow customs spot and stop illicit cultural property: risk analysis, documents, indicators, seizures and follow-up.›
Training of customs officersThe WCO – OIMAP training programmes: modules, formats, content, evaluation and access for administrations.›
See the border controls
Image credits (16)
- Return of the Fishing Boats at Collioure, near the Spanish Border, Adolphe Appian (1878) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Coronation of the Virgin, Christoffel Jegher (1632–36) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Fishing Boats along the Beach, Eugène Isabey (c. 1830) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Nuova pianta di Roma data in luce da Giambattista Nolli l’anno MDCCXLVII, known as La Pianta Grande di Roma, Giovanni Battista Nolli (1748) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Sailing Vessels: Armed Four-Master Putting Out to Sea, Pieter Bruegel (1561–65) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- The Dance at the Court of Herod, Israhel van Meckenem (c. 1500) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Sketchbook, The Dells, N° 127, page 090 & 91: Harbor with a Road, Maurice Prendergast (c. 1919–1921) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Nuova pianta di Roma data in luce da Giambattista Nolli l’anno MDCCXLVII, known as La Pianta Grande di Roma, Giovanni Battista Nolli (1748) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Landscape with Saint John the Baptist, Herri met de Bles (c. 1540) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Portrait of John VIII Palaoelogus, Emperor of Constantinople, 1424-1428 (reverse), Pisanello (c. 1438–1439) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Boating in Moonlight (1600s) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Small Mosque in the Kaiserbagh, Felice A. Beato (1858) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Net Fishing at Night on the Sumida River, Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1800) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Ships near the Trieux River, Paul Signac (1925) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- Ferry Slip, Edwin Kaufman (1927) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0
- View of Venice, Jacopo de' Barbari (1500) — Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0