EU-TWIX training at Heathrow airport © UK Border Force.
In 2025, we are delighted to celebrate 20 years of EU-TWIX in operation, and the key investigations it has triggered throughout those years.
“We are happy that an idea from Belgium many years ago has grown into a tool, to assist law enforcement agencies of all the EU Member States and several non-EU members, every single day to detect, analyse and monitor illegal activities in CITES-listed species.
We are delighted that the TWIX system has been rolled out in several other regions in Africa and look forward to future developments to sustain the next 30 years.”
Miet Van Looy, Head of Unit of the Belgian CITES Management AuthorityEU-TWIX has become a significant platform to tackle wildlife trafficking: it now includes 39 countries, and over 1,400 law enforcement officials, across police, customs, CITES authorities, and judicial agencies. Inspired by the regional success in Europe, more TWIX systems have been replicated in various regions of Africa, and opportunities are being explored for other parts of the world.
“Over the years, we have seen a significant impact of the EU-TWIX exchanges leading to effective collaboration between law enforcement and management agencies within countries and across international borders, including prosecutions triggered,” said Vinciane Sacré, Senior Project Manager – EU TWIX.
TRAFFIC remains committed to supporting the cooperation between enforcement agencies, increasing the understanding of market dynamics and behavioural change approaches and building capacity, especially ensuring the legality of imports through seaports and airports.
Source link : https://www.traffic.org/news/celebrating-belgiums-cites-work-in-the-heart-of-the-european-union/
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Publish date : 2024-05-24 07:00:00
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