In a further effort to build a new and strong cooperation architecture for the world’s criminal police, INTERPOL’s General Assembly meeting in Budapest overwhelmingly adopted new structures for member countries’ financial contributions.

One of the aims of the new system of contributions, proposed by INTERPOL’s Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and supported by its Executive Committee, is to ensure greater fairness and to enable member countries with considerable arrears to bring themselves up to date with their payments.

The approval on Monday by the Organization’s General Assembly will mean that the funding of INTERPOL will come from those most able to bear the cost. Richer countries will have their dues to INTERPOL significantly increased, while all member countries whose contribution dues are in arrears will be granted an ‘amnesty’.

- The action taken today by INTERPOL’s supreme governing authority means that each member country will be a full member with full services from INTERPOL. Following the September 11 attacks, the world cannot afford second class members in the global chain of criminal police communication. All countries are equally important in the struggle against terrorism and serious crime, Secretary General Noble told the General Assembly.