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A photo taken on October 19, 2007 in Lyon shows the building of Interpol (Photo credit: FRED DUFOUR / AFP / Getty Images)
Interpol on Wednesday elected a South Korean president as president of the organization, ahead of a veteran of the Russian security services strongly opposed by the United States, Britain and other European nations.
Kim Jong Yang's surprise election was seen as a victory for the White House and its European partners, who lobbied until the last hours before the vote against Alexander Prokopchuk's candidacy for the appointment of the next president of the country. police organization.
The United States and others feared that if Russia's candidate had been elected, this would have led to further abuses by the Kremlin of Interpol's red notice system targeting political opponents and fugitive dissidents.
Russia has accused critics of "discrediting" its candidate, calling Prokopchuk a respected professional.
Groups campaigning to clean up Interpol celebrated the victory, as did South Korea. South Korean police and the Foreign Ministry issued a joint statement in which they said Kim's election was a "national triumph" that could improve the country's international reputation.
Kim's victory also means that he won at least two-thirds of the votes cast at Interpol's general assembly in Dubai on Wednesday. Interpol does not disclose how the Member States voted or how many votes Kim received. He will remain in office until 2020, thus completing the four-year term of his predecessor, Meng Hongwei, who had been arrested in China as part of a massive anti-corruption campaign in that country.
Kim, a senior police official from South Korea, served as interim president after Meng's detention and also served as senior vice president at Interpol.
The Russian Interior Minister said after the vote that Mr Prokopchuk, one of the three Vice Presidents of Interpol, would remain in this situation. Spokesperson Irina Volk told the Interfax news agency that Prokopchuk "will focus on strengthening Interpol's stature within the international policing community and getting its job done. more efficient".
Most of Interpol's 194 member countries attended the organization's annual meeting, held this year at a posh Dubai hotel on the Persian Gulf coast.
Interpol was facing a turning point in its history when delegates decided to entrust Prokopchuk or Kim, the only two candidates for the position, to Prokopchuk.
Interpol Secretary-General Jurgen Stock told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday that the president's nationality would not affect the neutrality of the organization.
"It is fundamental for the existence of Interpol that we are neutral and independent," he said.
Based in Lyon, France, this 95-year-old police force is best known for issuing "red notices" identifying suspects pursued by other countries, effectively placing them on the list of "most wanted" in the world. Interpol's rules prohibit the use of police notices for political reasons.
In 2016, Interpol introduced new measures to strengthen the legal framework around the red notice system, including the use of an international team of lawyers and experts who first verify Interpol's compliance with the Regulation before publication. Interpol also indicated that it had improved the work of an Appellate Body for Red Notices.
However, countries may issue requests – called "broadcasts" – stating that a wanted person must be stopped before Interpol reviews the notification, which, according to critics, constitutes a major loophole and loophole. in the system.
"We accept the fact that systems can be improved and recognize that a very small number of non-compliant red notices can seriously affect the lives of innocent citizens," Stock said.
Stock said red notices and broadcasts contributed to the arrest of 10,000 serious criminals this year alone, including nearly 200 suspected terrorists.
Critics say countries like Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran and China have used the system to try to bring together political opponents, journalists or activists.
Two years ago, Interpol was criticized when its member states approved the appointment of Meng as president for a four-year term. Amnesty International has criticized "China's long-standing practice of using Interpol to arrest dissidents and refugees abroad."
Nevertheless, member countries can send requests directly to other countries using Interpol's communication system, without going through the centralized Interpol control system set up for Red Notices. Monitoring groups also urge Interpol to reform the broadcasting system.
Bill Browder, who heads an investment fund that had already worked in Moscow, said Russia had used the broadcast system against him, which led to his brief arrest in Spain earlier this year.
Mr Browder and another prominent Kremlin critic, the dissident oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, warned Tuesday that the election of Prokopchuk – who had ties to President Vladimir Putin – would have undermined the international police and cross-border police cooperation. Prokopchuk was responsible for facilitating the mandates of Interpol on behalf of Russia.
Browder and Khodorkovsky – who are insulted by the Kremlin – celebrated the result of Interpol's vote. Browder told The Associated Press that "common sense has prevailed in a dark world. This is a real humiliation for Putin, who thought he would be fine. "
Christopher David, the lawyer who wrote a book on Interpol, called Kim's election "a solid and non-controversial choice". He said in a statement that for Interpol to be a credible resource in the fight against crime, Kim must increase transparency to maintain its political neutrality. "
One day before the Interpol vote, the White House had publicly declared against Prokopchuk's election. National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said that "the Russian government is abusing Interpol's procedures to harass its political opponents". US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington was encouraging all Interpol nations and organizations to choose Kim.
Russia, however, secured the victory of its ally, Serbia, on Tuesday, when Kosovo's candidacy to join Interpol failed to get enough votes at the Dubai General Assembly. This initiative would have strengthened Kosovo's efforts to recognize its statehood. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
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