A brief interview of the head of the International Police Cooperation Department of the National Police of Ukraine, Vitaliy Kasap, with the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency on the resumption of the use of Interpol tools in war crime investigations

By Oksana Herontiyeva

 

The other day you announced that during INTERPOL's annual meeting of Heads of National Central Bureaus, INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza confirmed the possibility of using INTERPOL tools to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Could you please tell us more about what this gives Ukraine?

In November 2010, the INTERPOL General Assembly adopted Resolution AG-2010-RES-10, which defines the conditions for the use of INTERPOL tools to investigate war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

In mid-2022, INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in Ukraine submitted a number of requests to the INTERPOL General Secretariat regarding the issuance of Red Notices for Russians who committed war crimes on the territory of Ukraine. After almost two years of consideration, in May 2024, the INTERPOL Secretary General rejected Ukraine's request to process our requests for the publication of these "red notices", arguing that INTERPOL's compliance with the requests of a belligerent country would have potential risks for the reputation of the organization and its member countries.

Not agreeing with the decision taken by the General Secretariat, as part of a carefully planned campaign, in June 2024, during INTERPOL's European Regional Conference, the delegation of the National Police addressed the participants of the event with a proposal to consider INTERPOL's ability to use its tools in response to requests within the framework of war crimes investigation by means of its detailed study by INTERPOL's European Committee, which includes Ukraine as a member since 2021.

Despite the opposition of the representatives of Russia and Belarus, Ukraine's proposal was backed, which made it possible to bring the consideration of this issue into a more favorable format.

As a result of a long discussion by the Committee members, during which the Ukrainian side developed and presented a thorough argumentation why such a position of INTERPOL was erroneous and should be revised, and due to the change of leadership of the General Secretariat, last week the INTERPOL Secretary General, Mr. Valdecy Urquiza, made a fundamental decision, which returned the opportunity to Ukraine and other countries to use tools for the investigation of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide envisaged by Resolution AG-2010-RES-10.

How does this regulation actually work?

According to this resolution, the said requests can be considered by the General Secretariat in three cases.

The first is when requests come from international tribunals. For example, the International Criminal Court can submit a request to issue a Red Notice against its defendants. Also in the future, the Special Tribunal for the Russian Aggression, when such a tribunal is established, will be able to apply to INTERPOL.

The second is requests from bodies created by the UN Security Council: this refers to special bodies authorized to investigate specific situations. But we remember which country is also a member of the UN Security Council, so we should not rely too much on this instrument.

And the third is requests from INTERPOL member countries. The important provision here is that if a request from one country concerns a citizen of another member country, that country has 30 days to protest against the processing of such a request by INTERPOL's General Secretariat. If there is no protest, INTERPOL can then use its tools, including issuing a Red Notice.

What does the unblocking of Resolution 2010 bring to us, Ukraine?

Firstly, as already mentioned, it opens the way for the publication of notices at the request of international tribunals. Secondly, we get a chance to use instruments against war criminals who are citizens of countries other than Russia or Belarus. These are mercenaries and foreigners – members of numerous private military companies, or citizens of our state, who also committed war crimes against citizens of Ukraine.

In addition, the return of the resolution gives us the opportunity to use other tools of INTERPOL, such as the search for civilians who went missing under special circumstances, which resulted from war crimes, or to enter into databases works of art that were looted by the occupiers, and others.

We clearly understand that the aggressor state will also try to use the tools of Resolution 2010 and send its protests to the requests of the General Secretariat regarding Russians. We will also send our protests if Russia tries to use this tool of INTERPOL against our soldiers.

Therefore, we cannot say that this decision is a panacea, but this tool opens up many more opportunities for Ukraine than for the aggressor state. It certainly enhances Ukraine's ability to investigate war crimes and bring to justice, even a limited number, war criminals – which is our main goal. In addition, it is a very powerful and important signal for the international community and law enforcement officers of INTERPOL member countries. We have made a start, let's move on.

You spoke about the Red Notices. Could you please explain how exactly this INTERPOL tool works?

INTERPOL's Red Notice is a mechanism of INTERPOL that allows member countries to detain a person for the purpose of arrest and subsequent extradition.

By issuing such an alert in its databases, INTERPOL informs law enforcement officials in other countries that a person should be arrested in line with the national legislation. The requesting country must provide evidence that the suspect has committed a serious crime punishable by a minimum of two years' imprisonment or if the person has already been sentenced to serve a minimum of six months.

The law enforcement agency submits a request for such publication through its INTERPOL NCB (in Ukraine, it is the Department of International Police Cooperation of the National Police of Ukraine). INTERPOL checks the request for compliance with its rules. If the request is approved, the information is sent to member countries and law enforcement officers can take measures to arrest the person. After the arrest, the initiator of the search files an extradition request in accordance with international agreements.

Does a Red Notice mean that all partner countries are alerted and actively search for the perpetrator?

Each country views a Red Notice through the prism of its own legislation – for example, as a recommendation or requirement. This means that law enforcement officers in different countries are not necessarily tasked to search for a suspect.

If a person subject to a Red Notice comes to the attention of the police (e.g., during a border crossing, document check, routine patrol, paperwork), law enforcement can check the person in the INTERPOL database. If the country recognizes the Red Notice as sufficient grounds, the person may be temporarily detained for further extradition.

Only a small part of the Red Notices is publicly available on the INTERPOL website, while the bulk of them are available only to law enforcement officers.

Can countries abuse Red Notices?

Yes, some authoritarian regimes try to use this mechanism to politically persecute opposition members, activists and journalists. In such cases, INTERPOL's General Secretariat can cancel the request.

INTERPOL blocks attempts to use its tools in cases with religious, military, racial, political overtones (Article 3 of the INTERPOL's Charter). It is important that the rules of using INTERPOL mechanisms are unified for all 196 member countries of this organization.