Recommendation 22

HM Government · verbatim extract Not Addressed

1. INTERPOL is key for sharing information for law enforcement purposes with our European, Five Eyes and other international counterparts. There are rigorous processes put in place by INTERPOL to ensure that Notices and Diffusions are issued in line with the INTERPOL Constitution and INTERPOL Rules of Processing Data. The UK works with colleagues across the INTERPOL membership and with INTERPOL to reinforce this work, particularly in upholding Article 3 of the Constitution, which prohibits using the INTERPOL systems for political, military, religious, or racial ends. 2. We are aware of the potential for the misuse of INTERPOL Red Notices, and other international routes, to have arrest warrants actioned. The Home Office continues to work with the National Crime Agency, which acts as the UK’s National Central Bureau for INTERPOL, to monitor the effectiveness of existing safeguards. If we were made aware of confirmed cases of INTERPOL misuse, we would not hesitate to raise it with INTERPOL’s leadership. 3. Every Red Notice is checked for compliance by the INTERPOL Notices and Diffusions Task Force (NDTF) before issuance, at which point any Notices which are non-compliant are removed. After Notices or Diffusions have been published, the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL’s Files (CCF) has the power to investigate, and/or remove, any that can be proved to be in breach of the INTERPOL Constitution. INTERPOL also has the power to impose corrective measures on States found to be misusing INTERPOL systems; whilst it does not make public where these measures have been imposed, all member countries receive regular updates on the corrective measures imposed. As INTERPOL stated in its written evidence to the Committee, the corrective measures may range from enhanced monitoring of outgoing communication from the country concerned to full disconnection from the INTERPOL Information System. 4. The Government continues to be a strong advocate in support of INTERPOL and its reform programme to ensure there is no space for States to wilfully misuse its systems. We have welcomed the decision by INTERPOL to publish information on the work of the NDTF, specifically the number of Notices and Diffusions published, alongside the number refused by the NDTF: Compliance and Review. The latest statistics highlight that whilst there is, as noted, the potential for misuse of INTERPOL systems, the numbers of Notices and Diffusions identified as in breach of the Constitution represent a small percentage of the overall number eventually published: About Notices. That said, the Government views any allegation of misuse of INTERPOL’s systems very seriously and can confirm that we will continue to work closely with INTERPOL and partners to ensure the legitimacy of the Notices and Diffusions system, including through discussions at INTERPOL’s Governance Committee, and at meetings of the rules of data processing group.