Heads of the Slovenian criminal police took part in the 77th Interpol General Assembly, held in Saint Petersburg in Russia between 6 and 10 October 2008.
The assembly was attended by the director of the Criminal Police Administration at the General Police Administration, Aleksander Jevšek, his assitant Rajko Kozmelj and the head of the international police cooperation sector of the Criminal Police Administration at the General Police Administration, Dušan Kerin.
The four-day meetings which, with more than 700 security body delegates and security experts from 153 Interpol member states was the highest attended Interpol General Assembly, started with a call for member states to contribute to sustainable police work which would strengthen international police cooperation through joint membership, which expanded to 187 countries.
Secretary General Ronald K. Noble emphasised the importance of the initiative from the Slovenian EU presidency on connecting the European Union and Interpol, for which Interpol appointed a liaison officer at the EU Council.
In the photo: Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and the director of the Criminal Police Administration, Aleksander Jevšek
The assembly focused on increasing Interpol's investigative and operative capacities and on the technical capacities of police units of member states and national central bureaus (NCBs), to improving competences of police officers in the fight against international crime, especially in the fight against terrorism, sexual abuse of children via the internet, and against drugs and cybercrime, and to boosting efforts for apprehending wanted persons. At the annual meeting, delegates also voted for the accession of the Vatican City to this, biggest, police organisation in the world.
The assembly also appointed Khoo Boon Hui from Singapore the new Interpol president to replace the previous president from South Africa. The assembly adopted 19 new resolutions, the most important of them relating to Interpol's global security initiative for the 21st century; the project of the so-called I-link, which will integrate different records and data in Interpol's databases; and the fight against terrorism and new forms of crime (such as cybercrime, counterfeiting medicines).
The Global Security Initiative (GSI), which is a foundation for global police work in the 21st century, was adopted with an emphasis on strategic partnerships. It was aimed at confirming the role of INTERPOL, which acts as a model for the sustainable capacities of security authorities. Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble also called in his opening address on the international community and private sector to fund the new approach in the fight against international crime and to contribute EUR 1bn to the GSI fund.
Delegates at the assembly also examined ongoing projects aimed at fighting international gangs, and Interpol's involvement in the biggest international events and accidents. Two cases are the Beijing Olympics, where Interpol provided operational support, and assistance to the Government of the Philippines in identifying hundreds of victims of the June ferry accident.