Madrid: An agreement between the Conference of Ministers of Justice
of Ibero-American Countries (COMJIB), encompassing the Ibero-American Network
of International Judicial Cooperation (IberRed), and INTERPOL has been signed
to promote judicial and police cooperation at the national, regional and
international levels.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which was jointly
signed by the Secretary General of COMJIB/IberRed, Víctor Moreno Catena, and
INTERPOL Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble, will provide a formal basis for
future cooperation between the organizations through an increased awareness of
their respective mandates, functions and regulations.
COMJIB Secretary General Moreno Catena said: “This agreement
will see more effective and direct communication between the judicial
authorities across the Ibero-American countries and INTERPOL in support of the
citizens we all serve.”
INTERPOL Chief Noble said the MoU would help broaden the
understanding of INTERPOL’s role and activities beyond exchanging police
information.
“The INTERPOL agreement with COMJIB and IberRed will bring a
greater understanding of each other’s role and day-to-day activities, which in
turn will result in more effective cooperation in identifying and bringing
criminals to justice, across Ibero-American countries and beyond," said Mr
Noble.
“Support from the judiciary is essential for frontline
police to effectively do their job, and in this respect, INTERPOL’s agreement
with COMJIB will provide a stronger support framework," concluded the
INTERPOL Secretary General.
Also present at the signing ceremony were Ignacio Ulloa
Rubio, Secretary of State of Security for Spain, Juan José Martin Casallo,
Deputy General Prosecutor of the Spanish General Prosecution Office and Miguel
Carmona, judicial member of the Consejo General del Poder Judicial of Spain and
chair of its Committee on International Relations and President of the European
Network of Councils for the Judiciary.
The agreement provides INTERPOL with access to the
Iber@Secure Communication System, a network of designated points of contact including
magistrates, prosecutors and officials from Ministries of Justice and central
authorities established by IberRed members under international law instruments
including the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the UN
Convention against corruption.
Areas already identified for future collaboration cover
training and capacity building in combating transnational organized crime,
people smuggling and human trafficking.
The 22 COMJIB/IberRed member countries are: Andorra,
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama,
Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.