Rwanda National Police

The Rwandan delegation headed by the State Minister in the Ministry of Justice in charge of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana is in Santiago, Chile to attend the 88th INTERPOL General Assembly, which focuses on addressing current and future organized crime, including terrorism threats.

The delegation also includes the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIGP) in charge of Administration and Personnel, Juvenal Marizamunda and the Secretary General for Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB), Col. Jeannot Ruhunga.

Rwanda, which hosted the 84th INTERPOL General Assembly in 2015, is an active member of the international police body.

During the four days (15 – 18 October), participants from 162 countries, who include Police Chiefs and ministers will discuss proposals to advance INTERPOL’s technical and operational support to police worldwide.

The benefits of frontline access to INTERPOL’s global databases, as well as on-site support from Incident Response Teams (IRTs) will be highlighted during the conference.

Examples from this year alone include IRT deployments following the terrorist attacks in Kenya and Sri Lanka, and more recently after large drug seizures in Guinea Bissau and the Maldives, which have helped generate significant investigative leads.

In addition to setting INTERPOL’s agenda and budget, the General Assembly will also vote on the reappointment of Mr. Jürgen Stock as the head of the Organization Secretariat General for a second and last five-year term.

The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, while officially opening the conference, said that “crime is changing and constantly evolving. We must step up our fight against crime, a fight which can never be abandoned.”

INTERPOL President Kim Jong Yang said: “The world is changing. INTERPOL is evolving. However, our mission and commitment to a safer world remain unchanged, and we will continue to build bridges amongst global law enforcement, and beyond.”

Stock, in his remarks, pointed to key statistics in demonstrating the increased relevance and use of INTERPOL since 2014; 82 million messages exchanged, 120 per cent increase in hits against INTERPOL databases, an increase in foreign terrorist fighter profiles from just under 1,000 to some 50,000 and 12,374 victims of child sexual abuse identified.