21 March 2010
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Marrakesh, Morocco, 5-8 November 2007 Speech by INTERPOL President, Jackie Selebi  Printable version
The Honorable Director General of National Security, Mr Drais CHERKI The Honorable Mayor of Marrakesh, Mr. Omar JAZOULI, Esteemed Members of the INTERPOL Executive Committee, The Honorable INTERPOL Secretary General, Mr. Ronald K. NOBLE, Distinguished Delegates of the INTERPOL General Assembly, Fellow Law Enforcers, Ladies and Gentlemen: INTERPOL general assemblies are important milestones for our Organization, but this year’s General Assembly has a double special meaning for our gracious Moroccan hosts. Indeed, we are celebrating this year not only the 50th anniversary of Morocco’s membership to INTERPOL but also the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Directorate for National Security. On behalf of the INTERPOL community, please accept our gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Honorable Minister of Interior, the Director General for National Security and other governmental and local authorities for your constant and active support to our Organization through these 50 years. Your strong belief in the ideals of INTERPOL has helped shape our Organization into what it is today -- a dynamic and proactive partner to the policing needs of its 186 member countries. From its humble beginnings in 1923, our Organization has evolved into a truly international police organization. Together, we have exceeded the expectations set forth by our pioneers 84 years ago. We have made INTERPOL relevant to all stakeholders, not only to the law enforcement community, but also to all those who seek to serve and protect: ordinary citizens, the business community and other international organizations. We have set new standards in global police cooperation against international crime. Through our network, we have constricted the playing fields of international fugitives and suspected criminals. Recently, a number of high-profile cases have demonstrated the determining role of INTERPOL’s operational network in bringing suspects of international crime - whether these crimes are sexual abuse of children or genocide – to justice. Indeed, we can all proudly say that our Organization has come a long way since its inception. But for INTERPOL’s achievements to be even more meaningful and fulfilling, its tools and services need to be felt by the majority, if not all, of its members. The entire INTERPOL community, not just our national headquarters or main offices to name a few, should be able to benefit and take advantage of the new and existing INTERPOL tools and services. Making these services more widely available has been and will be a priority for our Organization in the years to come. As President of INTERPOL, it is my commitment to bring INTERPOL services to each and every police and law enforcement officer worldwide. Our fast-changing world has affected the way on how law enforcers deal with crime. While criminals’ intentions may have remained the same as a hundred years ago, the magnitude of their operations and criminal methods has definitely changed. Aided by quickly evolving technologies in communication and logistics, criminal activities have gone global and have become much more sophisticated. We must not only be able to adapt to these trends. We should be STEPS AHEAD of them. This is why our Organization will never cease to develop programmes, projects and services that would help our police in their daily fight against crime.
Many of our member countries have already proven the value of these INTERPOL tools and services in their respective crime investigations and have expanded access to these databases throughout their country. But we must go further. We must continue to anticipate future crime threats and act now to prevent now. And during this General Assembly, you will hear about important initiatives that contribute to the future of our Organization. We will be implementing a system, called I-link, which will allow specialized crime investigators to instantly check and exchange more relevant information from other INTERPOL databases on terrorism, child exploitation, drugs and high-tech crime, among other sources. Also, we are now implementing the MIND and FIND System that brings the INTERPOL databases directly to frontline police officers. To date, 20 countries worldwide have already implemented the system. The system has already allowed us on several occasions to identify and disrupt organized crime networks engaged in people smuggling and human trafficking. These examples demonstrate that our Organization is on the right path. The tools we have put in place have an almost unlimited potential to further strengthen global policing. But the higher service levels and the more sophisticated tools come at a price. For the people working at the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France and in your respective NCBs, this means more work, longer hours, more sacrifices and stronger dedication to the INTERPOL mission. It also means difficult discussions on not only how we can sustain the achievements that we have reached but also on how our Organization can continue to live up to the expectations and the increasing demands for operational support of our member countries. Our success comes with responsibility. This responsibility involves us in making sure that our Organization will have the necessary resources required to achieve our priorities. This includes sending more police officers to work at the General Secretariat and in the different Sub-Regional Bureaus and providing more resources for our Organization. To put it plainly, we have to consider a re-examination on how we financially contribute to INTERPOL. In addition, we have to reconsider how to fairly divide the financial dues among our 186 Member Countries. This is why the INTERPOL Executive Committee is establishing a Working Group to study and submitting recommendations regarding the development of a new financial contribution scale for INTERPOL. Before I end my remarks, let me take this opportunity to pay tribute and say a few words to an outstanding and professional colleague who is finishing his term with the INTERPOL Executive Committee: our Vice-President for Europe - Dr. Rodolfo Ronconi. During his four years with the Executive Committee, Dr. Ronconi shared his enthusiasm, professionalism and dedication to duty with the other Executive Committee members. As Chair of the Strategic Development Sub-Committee, he helped formulate plans and actions that help our Organization anticipate the emerging security threats and future policing needs of our member countries. To Dr. Ronconi, I wish you well in your future endeavours and thank you for your achievements. Ladies and Gentlemen, in our campaign against international crime, we must always be steps ahead of the criminals. Let us take advantage of this forum to discuss and find our way forward. Together, let us build the INTERPOL of the future. Thank you and good day.
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