AFRICAN CONFERENCE OF DIRECTORS AND INSPECTORS GENERAL OF POLICE ON AFRIPOL
Algiers, 10-11 February 2014
ALGIERS DECLARATION ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AFRICAN MECHANISM FOR POLICE COOPERATION - AFRIPOL
We, the African Chiefs of Police of Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'ivoire, DR Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sahrawi Republic, Somalia, Seychelles, Sierra-Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, meeting in Algiers, Algeria, on 10-11 February 2014;
- Commending the commitment of the Member States of the African Union and their determination to work together to ensure peace, security, safety, and stability on the African Continent;
- Considering the declaration of the AU Specialised Technical Committee on Defence, Safety and Security (STCDSS) at its 7th Ordinary Session held in Addis Ababa on 14 January 2014 and approved by the Heads of State and Government at the 22nd Ordinary Session of the African Union; welcoming and supporting our conference;
- Welcoming the commitment to Panafricanism demonstrated by the African police institutions taking part in this Conference and their determination to contribute to the revival of the Continent and the emergence of an African society freed from the scourges of organized crime and terrorism;
- Emphasizing the strong determination of African police institutions to work in a concerted and permanent framework taking into account the specificities of the African region within the framework of police values and ethics;
- Noting Recommendation No. 7 considering the possibility of establishing a mechanism of regional cooperation bringing together African Police Chiefs called 'AFRIPOL', unanimously adopted by the 2~d African Regional Conference of Interpol held in Oran on 10-12 September 2013;
- Recalling the agreement reached at the meeting of African regional police organisations on small arms and light weapons held in May 2011 in Kigali, Rwanda, which called for the establishment of an African mechanism of police coordination;
- Aware of the need to initiate, harmonise, and strengthen African legal instruments for the fight against transnational crime and terrorism and to promote the tools necessary for their implementation;
- Commending the sustained efforts made by the African Union for the promotion of human rights, good governance, the rule of law, peace and security, economic and social development in Africa;
- Acknowledging the services provided by ICPO-Interpol and its efforts for African police institutions, in particular its strategy for 2014-2016 and Plan of Action 2014-2015 for the African region;
- Acknowledging the progress achieved thus far by African sub-regional police cooperation organisations, which needs to be consolidated in an overall strategic African framework of prevention and fight against all forms of crime;
- Aware of the common challenges faced by African countries in terms of terrorism and organised transnational crime, in particular illicit traffics in drugs, light arms, munitions, migrants, and traffic in persons, maritime piracy, cybercrime, counterfeit medicines, environmental crimes, serious disturbances of public order, and social peace;
- Concerned by the increasing extent of these forms of crime in several African sub-regions, the emergence and unbridled spread of criminal phenomena, in particular those relating to information and communication technologies, capital transfers, and various illicit traffics in natural resources and smuggling;
- Deeply concerned by the alliance of criminal organisations, the complexity of their actions and methods of operation, which have gradually broadened their scope of activity at continental and international levels and taken advantage of difficult socioeconomic conditions of some populations, the vulnerability of borders, globalisation, and easy access to technologies;
- Highlighting the need to promote African police coordination at strategic, operational, and tactical levels through the assessment of threats, analysis of criminal intelligence, planning, and implementation of actions;
- Convinced that an effective response to the various forms of crime on the African Continent requires the harmonisation of police methods, the exchange and extension of best practices in terms of training, prevention, investigative techniques, and expertise, as well as the strengthening of African police capabilities;
- Recognising that such an objective requires increased coordination and cooperation, especially with, ICPO-Interpol, UNODC, and other relevant organisations;
- Commending the commitment and efforts of Algeria for the outstanding organisation and the success of this Conference devoted to the establishment of AFRIPOL;
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
- To establish under the aegis of the African Union a mechanism for African police cooperation called the African Police Cooperation Organisation - AFRIPOL;
- To designate Algeria as the host country for the headquarters of AFRIPOL in Algiers;
- To request the African Union Commission to submit a report on the establishment of AFRIPOL to the next AU Summit of Heads of State and Government scheduled to be held in June 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, and proceed to its operationalisation;
- To request the AU Commission to facilitate the effective setting up of an ad hoc committee co-chaired by Algeria and Uganda and gathering the representatives of African regional organizations of police cooperation to develop draft statutes of AFRIPOL and legal texts governing its organization, operation, and funding.
Done at Algiers on 11 February 2014,
In triplicate originals in Arabic, French, and English, the three texts being equally authentic.