Members of INTERPOL’s Executive Committee, led by President Ahmed Naser Al Raisi, have conducted a tour of the Organization’s six Regional Bureaus (RBs) in Africa and the Americas.
The Vice President for Africa, Garba Baba Umar, and the two EC delegates for Africa, Anne-Marie Nainda and Alaa Ragab, accompanied the President on his visits to the INTERPOL RBs in Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Zimbabwe (10-18 February).
The Vice President for the Americas Valdecy Urquiza toured the RBs in Argentina and El Salvador with the President to see first-hand their daily law enforcement support activities (14-20 March).
On the final leg, Argentina’s Police Chief and EC delegate for the Americas Juan Carlos Hernandez welcomed the delegation to Buenos Aires, where the RB also hosts one of the Organization’s three Command and Coordination Centres.
“This is one of the first times the Executive Committee has travelled to all six RBs to assess how well they support member countries and how we, as INTERPOL’s governing body in charge of supervising the work of the General Secretariat, can drive real strategic and sustainable change,” said President Al Raisi.
Engaging with key stakeholders
Throughout the tour, the President and EC members met with state leaders, security ministers, general prosecutors, police chiefs and heads of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) for high-level exchanges on some of the region’s most pressing policing issues.
“Transnational crime is evolving fast and it is critical that police officials around the world are equipped to the highest level to protect their communities against future threats,” said Vice President for Africa Umar.
At each RB, the President and EC members also held virtual meetings with NCBs in the associated region, almost 80 countries in total, to hear their challenges and identify ways in which additional assistance can be provided.
Extending access to INTERPOL’s I-24/7 network at key border points was a major point of discussion at each RB, with countries eager to benefit from mobile technology allowing frontline officers to run instant checks on INTERPOL’s criminal databases.
“This tour has given the Executive Committee real insight into the importance of the Regional Bureaus and will be an area for discussion at the next Executive Committee meeting as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure police in Africa and the Americas have the skillsets and tools required to support global security,” said Vice President for the Americas Urquiza.
A supervisory body
Diversity was also high on the agenda, with the EC members expressing strong support for the 2022 INTERPOL General Assembly resolution to further prioritize the geographical and gender diversity of the organization’s workforce, particularly as it relates to underrepresented countries.
The Executive Committee is the governing body in charge of supervising the execution of the General Assembly’s decisions and the administration and work of the General Secretariat.
The Committee’s members sit at the top level of policing in their own countries and bring many years of experience and knowledge to advise and guide the Organization.
The six RBs are part of the General Secretariat structure, each providing policing support services to member countries in their specific regions.
