These meetings are organised by UNEP OzonAction Team in Africa. It is part of the Regional Network service that OzonAction's Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) provides to Article 5 (developing) countries as part of its role as an Implementing Agency of the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.
The main objectives of the proposed Regional Network Meeting of the English-speaking African countries (8-10 May 2023) back-to-back with Thematic Workshop for Customs Officers (11-12 May 2023) are as follows:
Regional Network Meeting of the English-speaking African countries:
• To facilitate African network countries to share experiences/good practices in various areas under the Montreal Protocol and further discuss the implementation of the Conclusion and Recommendations from the Network Meeting in October 2022. Specific topics for discussion would include but not limited to (i) updating Montreal Protocol related meetings such as outcomes and key decisions of the 34th Meeting of the Parties (MOP) and the 91st Meeting of the Executive Committee (ExCom) as well as issues to be discussed at the Open-ended Working Group (OWEG) Meeting and 92nd ExCom meeting, (ii) Kigali HFC Phase-down Implementation Plan (KIP) strategy and approach, (iii) situation on HCFC phase-out/HFC phase-down in the refrigeration and air-conditioning (RAC) applications to identify challenge and technical and policy support to ensure country compliance with obligations, (iv) HFC licensing system and data reporting, (v) gender mainstreaming to discuss and explore entry points to integrate gender issues into various workstreams of the Montreal Protocol implementation and (vi) 2023 CAP services.
Thematic Workshop for Customs Officers of the English-speaking African Network:
• To facilitate discussion between the Ozone Officers and Customs Authority in the Network to identify current practices and challenges and further brainstorm and agree on the approach to strengthening enforcement of licensing system including (i) accurate declaration of shipment HCFC/HFC and verification procedures, (ii) data tracking and monitoring against the quota/issued import license through different mechanisms, (iii) data reconciliation and verification of HCFC/HFC trade data and mechanism for reporting Article and Country Programme data, (iv) risk profiling of HCFC/HFC control, and (v) discussion on the newly adopted 2022 HS codes.
Accordingly, UNEP's OzonAction Compliance Assistance Programme has structured the program of the Network Meeting to ensure they address the most urgent and important emerging issues being faced by African Parties and to ensure that the meetings address the current and forthcoming compliance needs both towards Montreal Protocol control measures and MLF funded projects.
