ALGIERS, Algeria, March 20, 2015/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The 3rd meeting of the ad hoc Committee on the establishment of the African Police Cooperation Mechanism (AFRIPOL) took place in Algiers, from 18-19 March 2015. The meeting was attended by the members of the ad hoc Committee, including the co-Chairs, Algeria and Uganda, and the Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organizations, namely the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO), the Central African Police Chiefs Committee (CAPCCO) and the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO). The meeting was also attended by a representative of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
The meeting reiterated the importance of cooperation between the police and law enforcement agencies on the continent, in the face of ever changing nature and methods of organized crime and terrorist syndicates, which continue to pose a serious threat to peace, security and stability in Africa. It discussed the modalities for the operationalization of AFRIPOL, and agreed to meet in Addis Ababa in May 2015 to finalize the related documents.
It should be recalled that the proposal to establish AFRIPOL was made by the African Conference of Police Director- and Inspector-Generals, which took place in Algiers on 10 and 11 February 2014. In the Algiers Declaration adopted on that occasion, the Conference emphasized the strong determination of the African Police Institutions to work in a concerted manner and within a standing framework, taking into account the specificities of the African region; acknowledged the common challenges facing the African countries in the area of terrorism and organized transnational crime; and highlighted the need to promote African police coordination at strategic, operational and tactical levels.
At its 25th Ordinary Session held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 20 to 24 June 2014, the Executive Council endorsed the Algiers Declaration on the establishment of AFRIPOL, and requested the Commission to follow-up on all the aspects of the Declaration, in particular those relating to the statute, as well as the financial, structural, legal and other implications of the establishment of AFRIPOL. Subsequently, two meetings of the AFRIPOL ad hoc Committee took place in Addis Ababa and in Kampala, on 2 July and 2 October 2014, respectively, to elaborate the draft statute of AFRIPOL and other relevant legal texts, as well as to identify the modalities of its funding.
Did you find this information helpful? If you did, consider donating.