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Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Interpol is no longer fit for purpose, say Rhys Davies and Ben Keith
FOR MORE than 100 years, Interpol has played a vital role in combating serious international crime, from terrorism to human trafficking. But the international police organisation, made up of 196 member countries, is now plagued by issues that undermine international co-operation among law enforcers and allow authoritarian states to weaponise its systems for their own ends. The recent appointment as secretary-general of Valdecy Urquiza, a Brazilian police commissioner, offers an opportunity for serious reform. Though his predecessor, Jürgen Stock, left Interpol in better shape than he found it, Mr Urquiza will need to go further to deal with its deep-rooted problems. The first of these is governance. The secretary-general, the full-time leader of the organisation, is assisted by an executive committee—essentially a board of directors chaired by a president. The current president is Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi, a major-general from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who is under investigation in several countries over allegations of complicity in torture (which he denies). The 13-member executive committee includes representatives from China and Turkey, two of the most prolific abusers of Interpol policy. At the most recent executive-committee elections, democratic countries failed to co-ordinate, putting forward numerous candidates and splitting their potential votes, while autocratic states voted as a bloc. The result was predictable: states with dismal human-rights records gained more influence within the organisation. In future, democratic nations must work together and unite around fewer candidates to allow the governance of Interpol to be geared towards fairness, independence and efficiency. Interpol's funding model exacerbates its governance challenges. Operating on a modest annual budget of around €200m ($225m), the organisation relies on three funding streams: statutory contributions from member countries (roughly based on economic size), in-kind donations of police officers, and voluntary contributions. Just before Mr al-Raisi was elected president, the UAE donated €50m, or roughly a quarter of Interpol's annual budget, through an arms-length NGO. The funding model should be revised to reduce vulnerability to handouts that could be seen as influence-buying. Donations would still be welcome but they must never be in exchange for perceived favours or public-relations opportunities. Statutory contributions should be increased to make up the likely shortfall. Meanwhile, Interpol's infamous Red Notice system, whereby a member state issues a notification that it would like someone arrested, has been systematically abused for years. Red Notices were designed to locate serious criminals abroad, but have now become the sniper's rifle for autocrats: long-distance, targeted and devastatingly effective against political opponents. Russia has consistently used Red Notices, threats of them or other abuses of the Interpol system to target dissidents and businesspeople, from well-known historical cases, such as Bill Browder and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to recent ones involving Western journalists and those opposed to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bahrain has also abused the system to target critics, including Sayed Alwadaei, the director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute of Rights and Democracy in London (and one of our clients). China, too, uses Red Notices as part of its Operation Sky Net/Fox Hunt in a way that explicitly contradicts Interpol policy. The purpose of a Red Notice is to find suspected criminals with the intent to extradite them. But once China has established an individual's whereabouts, it will often coerce them to 'return voluntarily' though threats, arrests and torture of family members, circumventing any formal extradition process. Sky Net/Fox Hunt purportedly aims to bring corrupt Chinese nationals abroad back to the mainland to face justice, but in reality it functions as part of Xi Jinping's global campaign to pursue dissidents. The Commission for the Control of Interpol's Files (CCF), an independent body responsible for reviewing challenged notices, currently consists of five lawyers meeting quarterly to process an overwhelming caseload. Despite often involving hundreds of pages of evidence, each case can only receive, on average, a matter of minutes of consideration. The CCF should be transformed into a continuous operation with significantly expanded staff and financial resources, funded by higher statutory contributions if necessary. This would make spotting and flagging abuse much easier. Interpol's notorious secrecy shields abusers from accountability, so Mr Urquiza should make enhancing transparency a priority. The organisation should publish regular statistics on Red Notice approvals and rejections by country. It should develop a system similar to one used by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that combats money-laundering and terrorist financing. The FATF maintains a public list that sorts countries into tiers, taking into account patterns of abuse and willingness to implement reforms. This would put pressure on abusive regimes to change, and give democratic members clarity about any exploitation of the system. That would allow them to apply extra scrutiny to requests from low-tier jurisdictions. China, Russia and other autocratic states have developed increasingly sophisticated methods to disguise political persecution as legitimate efforts to combat financial crime and corruption. They exploit flaws in both Interpol's governance structure and its operational processes. Their bad faith has so far been met with supine indifference. This needs to change. Reforming Interpol does not mean undermining its legitimate law-enforcement functions. Instead, true neutrality means enforcing rules equally against all member states. Earlier this year we submitted these ideas to Interpol. Our concerns are clear. Our hope is that Mr Urquiza listens and acts. Ben Keith is a barrister at 5 St Andrew's Hill and Rhys Davies is a barrister at Temple Garden Chambers. Both specialise in human-rights and international law, and regularly represent individuals challenging Interpol Red Notices. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Economist
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Economist
Interpol is no longer fit for purpose, say Rhys Davies and Ben Keith
FOR MORE than 100 years, Interpol has played a vital role in combating serious international crime, from terrorism to human trafficking. But the international police organisation, made up of 196 member countries, is now plagued by issues that undermine international co-operation among law enforcers and allow authoritarian states to weaponise its systems for their own ends. The recent appointment as secretary-general of Valdecy Urquiza, a Brazilian police commissioner, offers an opportunity for serious reform. Though his predecessor, Jürgen Stock, left Interpol in better shape than he found it, Mr Urquiza will need to go further to deal with its deep-rooted problems.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Yahoo
Authorities discover thousands of live animals in largest-ever trafficking operation: 'This has far-reaching consequences'
In a global operation against wildlife and forestry trafficking networks, coordinated in partnership between INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization, nearly 20,000 live animals — all endangered or protected species — have been seized. "The illegal wildlife trade is still rapidly growing, highly lucrative, and has devastating effects," said Ian Saunders, WCO Secretary General. Operation Thunder 2024 brought together police, customs, border control, forestry, and wildlife officials from November 11 through December 6, 2024. Participants in the largest-ever intervention of this type came from 138 countries and regions. Some 365 suspects were arrested by authorities as part of this trafficking operation, and six transnational criminal networks suspected of trafficking animals and plants were identified. The animals and plants might have been trafficked to be used as food sources, for their perceived medicinal benefits, for their perceived luxury or as collector's items, or to be sold as pets. The animals included big cats, pangolins, primates, birds, turtles, and other reptiles. Animal trafficking is a significant threat to wildlife and the ecosystems from which they are taken, endangering the survival of many species. It can lead to a decline in biodiversity, which is crucial for maintaining balanced ecosystems. When one species is exploited and removed, there is a ripple effect that can be detrimental to other plants and animals in the area. When trafficked animals and plants are moved from their native environment to areas where they do not naturally thrive, they are considered invasive species and can have a negative effect on the ecosystem they travel to. So the trafficking problem is twofold. INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza commented on the effects of trafficking networks that profit from the demand of rare species, exploiting nature for financial gain. "This has far-reaching consequences: it drives biodiversity loss, destroys communities, contributes to [the warming of the planet], and even fuels conflict and instability." Should the government be paying people to hunt invasive species? Definitely Depends on the animal No way Just let people do it for free Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. These are considered to be environmental crimes. When we better understand animal trafficking and support conservation efforts and anti-trafficking legislation, we can help vulnerable species and help protect the environment for our future. Saunders offered hope, saying, "The WCO remains committed to supporting its members and partners to effectively combat this serious crime." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
