Dr Ulrich Kersten, INTERPOL's Special Representative at the UN

NEW YORK - INTERPOL has appointed a Special Representative to the United Nations based in New York to help enhance communication and co-operation between the two organizations.

Working from INTERPOL's new offices in UN Plaza, Dr Ulrich Kersten will also assist both organizations to develop INTERPOL-UN partnerships to combat international crime and will work with UN officials to identify resource-sharing opportunities.

INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble formally presented Dr Kersten's credentials to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on 5 November.

'This is a significant development in the history of INTERPOL and the United Nations, which sees both organizations enter a new phase in our partnership against terrorism and other forms of transnational crime,' Mr Noble said.

'Transnational crime has progressed into a new form of geopolitics, with its own character, logic, structures and support systems. The need for international co-operation has never been greater in dealing with this new reality, and is a challenge which this new INTERPOL-UN partnership is ideally placed to meet.'

Dr Kersten said: 'As the first person to hold the position of INTERPOL Special Representative to the United Nations, I am very aware of the importance of this role not only for the police in INTERPOL's member countries, but for the wider global community.'

'INTERPOL already works closely with the United Nations in a number of areas, and it is this co-operation which gives police the best chance of tackling cross-border criminality around the world.'

Dr Kersten, former president of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) German Federal Criminal Police, has been appointed as INTERPOL's Special Representative to the United Nations for an initial three year term.

INTERPOL is the world's largest police organization, with member countries on five continents. It provides police with a range of services including a secure global communications system, criminal databases and operational police support services.

INTERPOL has already signed eight agreements with the United Nations, or UN-related entities, including one allowing UNMIK (United Nations Mission in Kosovo) Police to access INTERPOL's databases at the General Secretariat in Lyon.