After pressure from US allies, Interpol increased control over Russian authorities’ access to the entity’s systems and database.
The measure was taken in response to a diplomatic offensive led by the United Kingdom, which even asked for the exclusion of Moscow from the international alliance of police forces, which brings together representatives from 195 countries.
The British argument is that, in the midst of the war in Ukraine, the government of Vladimir Putin could use the different information systems of Interpol to go after opponents of the regime or people involved in the conflict.
The decision to put additional locks for Russian police was taken by the secretary general of the entity, the German Jürgen Stock. The set of actions received the support of the Executive Committee, in which Brazil occupies a seat.
Federal Police delegate Valdecy Urquiza was elected late last year to one of Interpol’s three vice-presidencies, for a three-year term. Wanted, he did not respond to contacts made by the report.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, the US and allies have launched a strategy to isolate Putin in the most different international organizations, including the UN (United Nations) and the G20 – President Joe Biden has already talked about excluding Russia from the latter.
Interpol also got on the radar. In late February, UK Home Secretary Priti Patel said the British would lead international efforts to suspend Moscow from the police organization. A few days later, she said she called for “the immediate suspension of Russia’s access to Interpol’s systems,” adding that the initiative was co-sponsored by the governments of the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
“Russia’s actions are a direct threat to individual security and international law enforcement cooperation,” the Brit said on Twitter.
According to interlocutors heard by the report, Americans, British and allies sought out the countries represented on the Executive Committee — including Brazil — to gain support in the diplomatic offensive.
In addition to having endorsed the action of the secretary general, the collegiate can be called to manifest itself again, in cases where Russia presents an appeal or if the measures imposed extend for a longer period of time.
The chairmanship of the committee is held by Ahmed Nasser Al-Raisi, from the United Arab Emirates, and the two other vice-chairs are with the Czech Republic and Nigeria. The committee also has delegates from Argentina, China, USA, UK, Kenya, Spain, Turkey and India.
Even in the face of pressure from the British and the Americans, the Secretary-General and the committee’s assessment was that it would not be possible to exclude Russia from Interpol, as the rules of constitution of the police alliance do not provide for the expulsion of a member.
The direction also assessed that there would be no way to simply prohibit Russian police from requesting access to the databases, another measure that has been suggested. “Interpol’s mandate does not include the adoption of sanctions or punitive measures,” the secretary-general said in a statement released on March 10.
There was also a diagnosis that excluding Moscow from the entity’s systems would jeopardize ongoing police cooperation projects with the country. Faced with this, the solution was to find an intermediate solution: putting Russia under a kind of supervision regime, in which requests for access to Interpol information pass through a filter of the secretariat.
According to people who follow the subject, the general secretariat already has control mechanisms to prevent the political use of the databases, but the decision was to strengthen supervision over requests from the Russian police.
In the March 10 statement, Interpol stated that communications through the entity’s internal systems must respect specific rules and that measures have been taken to protect data flowing through its networks. According to the note, this was done to prevent any “potential misuse” of the channels in relation to individuals involved or not in the conflict in Ukraine, which has now entered its second month.
“With immediate effect, alerts can no longer be sent directly from the national office [da Interpol] in Moscow for member countries. The Moscow office must now send all alerts to the general secretariat for a conference on compliance with Interpol rules. The alert will only be sent to member countries if deemed appropriate by the general secretariat. This procedure is in addition to the review, by the secretary-general, of all alerts”, the text detailed.
According to interlocutors, the oversight mechanisms aimed at Russians are centered on databases that contain information that can be used for political purposes, including the so-called dissemination system — which allows a member country to request information from another government about individuals. and facts related to crimes; it is also the tool by which Interpol places a suspect on an international wanted list.
In addition to diplomatic pressure, the war had other effects on the organization’s work. The Ukrainian authorities announced the temporary disconnection of the country from the alliance’s systems, precisely because they considered that, at the moment, they could no longer guarantee the security of information under the responsibility of the country’s police.
The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) — who visited Vladimir Putin days before the conflict erupted — has resisted the American strategy of promoting Russia’s isolation in different international bodies. The Brazilian view is that the crisis in Ukraine should be discussed mainly at the United Nations, within the scope of the Security Council and the General Assembly — in which two resolutions condemning the Russian action have already been approved, both with Brazilian support.
Government officials fear that the diplomatic offensive against Putin will jeopardize cooperation in international forums that normally do not deal with issues of peace and international security. Another fear involves possible impacts on the economy, notably in the fertilizer trade.
