AFRIPOL Concludes its 3rd General Assembly
The 3rd General Assembly of AFRIPOL was held in Algiers, Algeria, from 2-3 October 2019, in accordance with Article 15 of the AFRIPOL Statute. The General Assembly is the supreme technical and deliberative organ of AFRIPOL, with the responsibility to provide leadership direction regarding police cooperation in Africa. The Assembly was an opportunity for Participants to review the Report on AFRIPOL activities for the period October 2018 to September 2019.Furthermore, it also provided an opportunity for the Chiefs of Police of AU Member States to develop key documents for information sharing, and lay out strategies on how to effectively prevent and combat transnational organized crime and terrorism at the strategic operational, tactical and levels.
The Assembly also decided to extend the term of office of its Bureau (Algeria, Uganda, Nigeria, CAR and Zambia) and the mandate of AFRIPOL Executive Director, Dr. Tarek A. Sharif for two years.
The Executive Director of AFRIPOL briefed the 16 WAPCCP General Assembly, meeting that was held in Abuja, Nigria, 14-16 May 2019, on the operationalization of AFRIPOL. The meeting was a good opportunity to engage and update the region on the progress made so far on the work of AFRIPOL. The Executive Director also seized the opportunity to encourage the Member States of the region that had not yet done so to establish their AFRIPOL National Liaison Offices and to actively participate in AFRIPOL activities.
Algiers: On 30 March 2019 a delegation from Gabonese Police visited AFRIPOL Secretariat. The delegation was briefed on AFRIPOL regional policing efforts including establishment of AFRIPOL National Liaison Offices and installation of the African Police Communication System AFSECOM in member states.
On the 25th of April, AFRIPOL Executive Director Dr. Tarek A. Sharif briefed the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) in Addis Ababa.
The Executive Director in his brief to the PSC highlighted the nature of the threat of transnational organized crime and terrorism on the African continent. Also, he updated the Council on the coordinated efforts in supporting African Union Member States to fight terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime in Africa in face of the growing nexus between transnational organized crime and terrorism. He also emphasised on the need for enhanced cooperation for police agencies in AU Member States and other relevant law enforcement agencies in fighting against all forms of organised crime, as part of the efforts aimed at promoting peace, security and stability in Africa. Find Below the 845th Peace and Secutrity Council English and French Communiques on the Briefing: