MANDATE

1

The African Union Heads of State and Government,
at their 28th Ordinary Session of the Assembly held in January
at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, adopted the AFRIPOL Statute, in decision Assembly/AU/Dec.636(XXVIII). The decision effectively launched AFRIPOL,
as a specialized technical institution of the AU for cooperation among the
police of AU Member States.

2

AFRIPOL was established in January 2017 as a
“technical Institution of the Union for the mechanism
for police cooperation for Member States of the Union” (AFRIPOL Statute).
It, therefore, provides for enhanced cooperation among the police and other law enforcement agencies of the AU Member States in all aspects of policing/law enforcement.

3

It is noted that, objective 3 (g) of the Statute
also gives one of the objectives of AFRIPOL as to
“enhance coordination among police forces deployed in the context of peace support operations and work with the Police Strategic Support Group in planning, mobilization, deployment, management and
liquidation elements, plus, where applicable, other law
enforcement components, in the police element in
AU-led peace support operations”

4

AFRIPOL is, therefore,
mandated to not only provide for cooperation
among the police and law enforcement agencies
in the Member States to combat transnational
organized crime, but to also provide for coordination
among the police and law enforcement
agencies in AU-led peace
support operations.