ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 3, 2016/APO (African Press Organization)/ —
The African Union (AU) Commission held in Algiers, Algeria, on 27-28 April 2016, the consultative meeting on the start-up of the African Union Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL).
The meeting was intended to provide an opportunity for AFRIPOL to learn from the experiences and best practices in police cooperation from the other police cooperation organizations, as part of the steps towards the full operationalization of AFRIPOL in 2017. The participants included the Chairperson and representative of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) and the East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO), respectively. Other regional police and law enforcement cooperation organizations, including the ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL), the European Union’s law enforcement agency (EUROPOL) and the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) participated at the meeting. The AU Commission and the African Center for the Study and Research on Terrorism (ACSRT) were also represented. Algeria participated as host of the AFRIPOL Secretariat.
The opening session featured statements by His Excellency Major General Abdelghani HAMEL, General Director of National Security of Algeria and Dr. Tarek A. SHARIF, Head, Defence and Security Division in the Peace and Security Department of the AU Commission. The statements highlighted the transnational nature of the organized crime and the terrorist threat, and stressed the need for cooperation between and among the relevant agencies in the Member States to counter them.
Participants exchanged views, experiences and best practices on sharing of information, building and sharing databases, staffing, effective cooperation, including beyond the continent, and the need for minimum requirements in training.
In his closing remarks, Major General Abelghani HAMEL, stressed the need for enhanced cooperation between the police and law enforcement agencies in Africa and the benefits of such cooperation in the fight against transnational organized crime and terrorism.
