The UN General Assembly just adopted a resolution proposed by Norway and Brazil entitled «International Day of Police Cooperation», which will establish the official UN-day on the day of INTERPOL’s founding - 7. September. Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affaris, Anniken Huitfeldt, welcomes the adoption.
– This is a joyous day. Norway has a long tradition of contributing to and benefitting from international police cooperation. In a world with increasing border crossing criminal patterns, international police cooperation is more important than ever. I am glad UN Member States joins us in recognizing this with an annual day highlighting it. It’s only right that the world’s most important multilateral forum puts international police cooperation annually on the agenda, said Huitfeldt.
Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ronaldo Costa Filho, thanks the co-sponsors to the resolution.
– Policing is of fundamental importance to the three UN pillars: peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development, and we believe the important work of law enforcement agents deserves to be recognized globally. We thank Norway for their partnership in spearheading this initiative, INTERPOL, co-sponsors and all Member States, and we look forward to celebrate it starting next year, said Fihlo.
Mr. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, is also pleased with the adoption.
– International police cooperation is the key to effectively addressing the most serious challenges to peace and security, and therefore to United Nations peacekeeping, including cross-border and transnational organized crime. We welcome the adoption of this resolution, which highlights the importance of such cooperation and the work of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing in facilitating it as one UN, said Lacroix.
Ms. Ghada Fathy Ismail Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), welcomes the adoption, and highlights the important role of the police.
– Responsive and accountable police is a cornerstone of societies that respect the rule of law and human rights. In light of Our Common Agenda and the call to identify and adapt to new risks, UNODC is welcoming the adoption of this resolution, which highlights the role of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing, said Waly.