India hosts 90th Interpol General Assembly: All you need to know about global police body

PM Narendra Modi will address the 90th Interpol General Assembly on Tuesday in Delhi. Interpol`s supreme governing body, the General Assembly meets once a year to take key decisions related to its functioning. The meeting will be held in India after a gap of 25 years after it was last held in 1997.

International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) is the world's largest international police organisation headquartered in Lyon, France with 195 member countries. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 90th Interpol General Assembly on Tuesday in New Delhi. The 90th Annual General Assembly of Interpol will take place between October, 18-21 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The Interpol meeting in Delhi will be attended by delegations from 195 INTERPOL member countries comprising Ministers, Police Chiefs of countries, Heads of National Central Bureaus and Senior police officers. Interpol`s supreme governing body, the General Assembly meets once a year to take key decisions related to its functioning. The meeting will be held in India after a gap of 25 years after it was last held in 1997.

Interpol's Structure

The organisation has four administrative departments: General Assembly, General Secretariat, Executive Committee and National Central Bureaus.

General Assembly: The General Assembly is the governing body of Interpol. It is responsible for taking all important decisions concerned with policies, finances, working methods, resources and other activities and programs. The General Assembly meets once a year to take key decisions related to its functioning. The 90th Interpol General assembly meeting will be held in New Delhi on Tuesday. The meeting is taking place in India after a gap of 25 years since it was last held in 1997. 

General Secretariat: The General Secretariat coordinates Interpol's day-to-day activities to fight a range of crimes. 

Executive Committee: The Executive Committee consists of 13 members who are elected by the General Assembly. It has one President, three vice presidents and nine delegates that cover different regions. The Executive Committee is in charge of supervising the execution of the General Assembly’s decisions and the administration and work of the General Secretariat. It meets three times a year.

National Central Bureau (NCB): In each country, NCB provides the central point of contact for the General Secretariat and other NCBs. An NCB is run by national police officials and usually sits in the government ministry responsible for policing.

The stage is set for the 90th INTERPOL General Assembly in New Delhi.

We welcome our global membership and look forward to tackling today's crime threats together.#INTERPOLGA @CBI_CIO pic.twitter.com/HMhPltzaLh — INTERPOL (@INTERPOL_HQ) October 17, 2022

Leadership of Interpol

Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the president of Interpol. He was elected at the 89th General Assembly of Interpol in Turkey, Istanbul in 2021.

Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) special director Praveen Sinha is Interpol's delegate for Asia. He was elected in the 89th General Assembly of Interpol in Turkey, Istanbul in 2021. 

Two vacant posts of the vice president for Europe and the delegate for Africa will be elected in the 90the General Assembly being held in New Delhi between Oct 18-21.

Functions of Interpol

• Interpol enables cross-border cooperation between police forces of 195 member countries
• It enables them to share and access data on crimes and criminals and offers a range of technical and operational support.
• It offers investigative support such as forensics, analysis, and assistance in locating fugitives around the world.
• Interpol also facilitates police to work directly with their counterparts, even between countries which do not have diplomatic relations.
• Interpol supports countries in their efforts in combating three major global issues terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime.