Interpol said on Thursday Chinese public security official Meng Hongwei was the global police cooperation body’s new president.
The official announcement from the body, headquartered in the French city of Lyon, followed an earlier announcement on the issue in China.
Vice Public Security Minister Meng Hongwei was named as the first Chinese to hold the post at the organization’s general assembly on the Indonesian island of Bali, Interpol announced in a press release.
The Lyon, France-based International Criminal Police Organization has 190 member nations and has the power to issue “red notices.” It’s the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today. Interpol circulates those notices to member countries listing people who are wanted for extradition.
While Interpol’s charter officially bars it from undertaking “any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character,” critics say some governments, primarily Russia and Iran, have abused the system to harass and detain opponents of their regimes. Interpol says it has a special vetting process to prevent that from happening.
Quoted in the Interpol release, Meng said he takes over at a time when the world is facing some of the most serious global public security challenges since World War II.
“Interpol, guided by the best set of principles and mechanisms to date, has made a significant contribution to promoting international police cooperation,” Meng was quoted as saying. “Interpol should continue to adhere to these principles and strategies, while further innovating our work mechanisms in order to adapt to the changing security situation we see today.”
