The international community is uniting to send a signal that perpetrators of international war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity will be held accountable and brought to justice.
Whilst in the not too distant past there was no clear avenue for the investigation and prosecution of these types of crimes, the International Criminal Court has been created to address this gap.
INTERPOL is another key global player in the common fight against impunity for perpetrators of these serious crimes which are of concern to the international community. We look at the role played by INTERPOL in this critical area of international criminal law as outlined on its website.
Operational and investigative support
The International Criminal Police Organization, more commonly known as INTERPOL, enables police in its 194 member countries to work together to fight international crime. The vast global networks and tools such as Red Notices that enable this work put INTERPOL in a unique position to assist law enforcement authorities, international criminal tribunals and national prosecution services to investigate and seek justice for war crimes. This is achieved by:
- Providing operational and investigative support
- Promoting and facilitating access to its services, technical tools, resources and expertise
- Sharing information and coordinating international investigations
- Coordinating projects focused on catching fugitives who have committed war crimes, such as the Rwandan Genocide Fugitives Project.
Specialised training and development
The investigation of war crimes and related crimes is a highly specialised area.
INTERPOL has developed an International Training Course on Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity to equip investigators with this specialised training and knowledge, enhancing the capability of these professionals to successfully investigate and prosecute these offences.
This extensive training establishes standard practices in all areas, for example collecting and processing evidence related to mass atrocities.
Global partnerships
INTERPOL leverages various international partnerships to share expertise and maximise global efforts in combating war crimes and having fugitives arrested. Key partners include:
- The International Criminal Court
- United Nations International Tribunals
- Genocide networks such as the European Union Network of Contact Points
