Connecting the dots: UN calls for greater cooperation with INTERPOL

Homeland January 23, 2019

The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is calling for greater cooperation with INTERPOL to counter terrorism and combat transnational organised crime.

Having readily endorsed a review of GA Resolution 71/19 (2016), UN member states have officially recognised the importance of providing INTERPOL with up-to-date intel from battlefields, counter-terrorism operations and national prison systems to increase the chance of positively identifying terrorist operatives. It’s hoped renewed collaboration will also help in the fight against human trafficking, migrant smuggling and the illicit trade of small arms and light weaponry.

Historically, the sharing of intelligence has paid dividends, though the outlook has rarely felt as fraught as it does today. With this in mind, INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock recently took to the stage to address the UN General Assembly in New York. Underscoring the importance of collaborative thinking, Stock claimed INTERPOL’s global network had helped law enforcement make arrests the world over, in some cases within 24 hours of a source country sharing information on a suspected foreign terrorist fighter.

The Secretary General went on to reveal that biometric data recovered from improvised explosive devices unearthed in the Middle East and Northern Africa, and shared via INTERPOL, has resulted in the identification of suspected extremists in Europe and Asia.

“INTERPOL’s mission is to work towards making cooperation as seamless and as effective as possible, to carry our collective fight against crime across borders, by connecting law enforcement in our 194 member countries, and working together towards a safer world,” said Secretary General Stock.

Resolution 71/19 has seen cooperation between the two organisations intensify, particularly in the context of counter-terrorism. New agreements have been signed between INTERPOL, the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the UN Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (UNCTED), which have afforded INTERPOL participation in 17 CTED Country Assessment visits.

In the months since, INTERPOL-led operations Epervier (Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal), Libertad (Caribbean, Central and South America) and Sawiyan (Sudan) have led directly to the rescue of nearly 1000 victims of human trafficking and people smuggling.

Meanwhile, regional operations coordinated by INTERPOL to dismantle the movement of illicit weapons have borne fruit, resulting in the seizure of hundreds of firearms, ammunition and explosives, the arrest of individuals linked to migrant smuggling and the seizure of illicit drugs.

If INTERPOL is to maintain this momentum, however, international law must first be strengthened, and lines of communication along with it. Despite Resolution 71/19 being established for precisely this reason, the goalposts have already moved. It’s why a review of the resolution is welcome news to the world’s police.

“Since the resolution’s first adoption in 2016, the transnational threat landscape has evolved to pose new and increasingly complex challenges, in large part driven by unprecedented technological advances and instability, worldwide,” said the Secretary General.

“What remains a constant variable over time, however, is the determination of international criminal groups to seek to exploit national boundaries to evade the rule of law. Embracing and strengthening international law enforcement cooperation is the only way for the international community to stay ahead of the curve.”

Secretary General Stock added that INTERPOL’s seven Global Policing Goals, designed to complement and further support the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, would provide a blueprint for future law enforcement action. The Global Policing Goals focus on the following key cross-border crime priorities:

Counter the threat of terrorism
Promote border integrity worldwide
Protect vulnerable communities
Secure cyberspace for people and businesses

Promote global integrity
Curb illicit markets
Support environmental security and sustainability

“These goals aim to serve as a framework for the international community to collectively address today’s most pressing security threats, and have been designed to complement and further support the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals,” noted Stock.

“Their overarching purpose is to provide guidance on which criminal threats the international law enforcement community should prioritise – and commit to – in the years to come, as part of our common broader efforts to meet objectives under the 2030 agenda.”

In closing, Secretary General Stock reiterated his support for a refreshed resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and INTERPOL. This, he said, would mark a major milestone in the common journey towards a safer world.

“In an increasingly complex, fast-evolving and thus less predictable threat landscape, political leadership in international police cooperation is needed more than ever. Connecting the dots is just the first step to build a robust cooperation network. Relying on key decision makers to lead it towards a shared vision is the next.”

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