Luanda - The Vice-President of the Republic, Esperança da Costa, on Tuesday, in Luanda, urged the Member States of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to strengthen cooperation to prevent cross-border crime.
Speaking at the opening of the 26th Interpol African Regional Conference, Esperança da Costa considered cross-border crime one of the threats to global peace and security, and it can only be effectively flighted with the joint effort of all the world's police forces.
She pointed out that the world is currently facing threats whose dynamics know no borders and, for this reason, through Interpol, she considers it necessary to reinforce police cooperation, which allows for a quick, effective response and greater information security.
According to Esperança da Costa, Interpol must contribute to making "the world an increasingly safer place and this is a responsibility that must be shared by all States".
She recalled that the region faces threats that contribute to the increase in organized crime and terrorism, associated with the hotspots of tension and conflicts that occur in some regions of the continent.
In this regard, she pointed out that the tension and conflicts that occur in some regions of Africa are likely to influence the increase in other crimes that affect the development of Africa, which is also a violation of human rights.
In fact, she said it was urgent to establish close cooperation to prevent these situations, stressing “that no country is isolated, so regional and international cooperation is necessary and with greater intensity.”
The Vice-President of the Republic stated that Interpol currently represents an important entity in international security policy, it has developed and is developing capabilities that today allow it to connect the 195 Member States, which have served with its instruments and services to all the Law Enforcement Bodies Law and with police functions in preventing and combating common, organized and cross-border crime.
She recalled that the Republic of Angola, since 2002, has had officers on service commission, in the different operational and administrative bodies of the General Secretariat of Interpol and governance, namely in the Executive Committee and File Control Commission, either at headquarters level in Lyon, or at the organization's Regional Bureau, based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He noted that it was in this spirit that the Angolan Government took the initiative, in 2019, during the 24th Session of the African Regional Conference, held in Kigali, Rwanda, to present its candidacy, to host the 26th Conference "which today we witnessed and which also coincides with the 41st anniversary of joining this organization".
In front of senior Interpol officials, among other guests, Esperança da Costa assured that the police and law enforcement bodies of the Angolan Government are committed to this spirit, and the hosting of the 26th Regional Conference, in the Angolan capital, demonstrates this commitment International. She highlighted that since the beginning of its independence, Angola, concerned with peace and public security, saw Interpol as a relevant organization, joining that organization on October 5, 1982, during the 51st Session of the General Assembly, held in the Kingdom of Spain.
Esperança da Costa made it known that the organization has defined a set of priority crimes such as drug trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking, cybercrime, various forms of fraud involving goods and products, corruption, maritime piracy, money laundering and other types of organized crime, which, in his view, constitute a strong threat to the development of countries.
With the event, the International Criminal and Penal Police Organization intends, among other topics, to address the current challenges of transnational crime, the application of laws on terrorism, cybercrime, financial crime and corruption, human trafficking and maritime piracy.
Taking place from the 3rd to the 5th of this month, the Interpol African Regional Conference will be attended by 350 delegates from African countries, the United States of America, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Qatar, Serbia, Guatemala and Brazil. DC/VIC/ADR/TED/DOJ
