INTERPOL

INTERPOL (the International Criminal Police Organization) is an intergovernmental body that enables police forces in its member countries to cooperate on transnational crime. It was founded in 1923 in Vienna as the International Criminal Police Commission and reconstituted under its current name in 1956, when its modern Constitution was adopted. Its General Secretariat is headquartered in Lyon, France.

Despite popular perception, INTERPOL is not a UN organ or specialized agency. It is an independent international organization, though it has held Permanent Observer status at the UN General Assembly since 1996 and cooperates closely with UN bodies such as the Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate.

INTERPOL's core functions include:

• Operating a system of international notices, the best known being the Red Notice, a request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition. Other colors include Blue (information), Yellow (missing persons), and Green (warnings).
• Maintaining global databases on stolen travel documents, DNA, fingerprints, firearms, and stolen artworks, accessible through the I-24/7 secure communications network.
• Coordinating with National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in each member state, which serve as the domestic liaison point.

Governance rests with the General Assembly, which meets annually and elects the Executive Committee and the President (a four-year term). Day-to-day operations are led by the Secretary General; Jürgen Stock of Germany held the post from 2014 to 2024, succeeded by Valdecy Urquiza of Brazil in 2024.

Article 3 of the Constitution forbids INTERPOL from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious, or racial character. This provision has been central to disputes over alleged misuse of Red Notices by states such as Russia, Turkey, China, and Venezuela to pursue dissidents abroad; the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF) reviews such complaints.