National seminar targeting small and medium size traders in Togo focuses on gender responsive and inclusive policies

The WCO, in a strategic partnership with the Togolese Revenue Office (OTR), led a comprehensive one-week gender equality and diversity (GED) monitoring mission from 16 to 20 September 2024 in Lomé, Togo. This mission featured a two-day stakeholder engagement meeting aimed at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small-scale traders, with a significant focus on women traders. This engagement is a key part of the West Africa Security Project (WASP) component on gender equality, a partnership between WCO and the German Central Customs Authority funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

During the week, the WCO team, which included an expert from Moroccan Customs and an expert from the WCO Regional Office for Capacity Building for West and Center Africa (ROCB-WCA) in Côte d'Ivoire, held meetings with different units of the OTR to discuss the draft GED action plan, which has been developed as a result of capacity-building support under the framework of the WASP. Among the key activities identified in this action plan is enhancing collaboration with external stakeholders to advance GED, including partnerships with other government agencies and women trader associations.

In this regard, a first stakeholder engagement national seminar was organized with the Ministry of Commerce, Crafts and Local Consumption, the Directorate of Foreign Trade and the West African Association for Cross-Border Trade in Food Products participating.

The two-day seminar provided an opportunity for participants to enhance their knowledge of the links between trade facilitation and gender, the opportunities generated by the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), as well as on Customs import and export procedures.

Another key component of the seminar was the issue of security and safety. This topic was addressed from different angles, including the importance of having women officers at the borders, the prevention of harassment and gender-based violence, the risks of illicit and harmful goods and the need to meet certain standards, as well as the importance of having gender-responsive and inclusive infrastructure at the border. Participants were also briefed on the role of Customs in collecting revenue, facilitating trade, ensuring safety, and protecting society.

The seminar, which brought together more than 50 participants, was a testament to the collective effort to strengthen collaboration between Customs and the stakeholders. It provided a platform for the stakeholders to voice their specific needs and concerns, which were then used to identify recommendations for future cooperation between OTR and the stakeholders. The WCO looks forward to continuing working with the OTR to implement the recommendations from the GED mission.

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