INTERPOL’s mandate – to promote the widest possible police cooperation worldwide – is built on an essential premise: trust. The trust of officials in our Organization; the trust of member countries in the General Secretariat; and the trust of the public whom we ultimately serve. This trust is maintained through promoting good governance throughout our Organization.
INTERPOL’s reputation and success depend on its compliance with the highest ethical standards, both at Organizational level, and at an individual level.
INTERPOL’s key asset is our officials; their qualifications, skills, experience and sense of professionalism.
The Code of Ethics for INTERPOL Officials provides general principles based on values which, beyond the necessary respect for compulsory rules, should lead to exemplary personal and professional behaviour. These five values are:
- Respect
- Excellence
- Integrity
- Teamwork
- Innovation
The principles integrated into this Code aim to encourage the development of personal standards of behaviour, born out of a sense of pride in belonging to INTERPOL and a sense of service.
The standing committee on ethical matters
The Standing Committee on Ethical Matters (SCEM) is an advisory board to the INTERPOL General Secretariat on ethical and due diligence matters. It was founded in 2015 and meets annually, presenting its outcomes in the forms of recommendations.
The objective of the SCEM is to reflect and advise on the continuous development and implementation of the Ethical Framework at INTERPOL. This includes studies on reputational risks relative to proposed external contributions, and initiatives to enhance transparency and accountability regarding contributions from the private sector. This also includes addressing future challenges, notably the ethical framework within emerging technologies used in fulfilling the organization's mandate.
Composition
Membership of the Committee is reserved to experts in ethical questions, who originate from the field of law enforcement, academia, or international organizations.
Chair
Dr Stephen Maguire, Executive Director of the Centre on Values and Ethics, Carleton University, Canada
Members
Ms Sylvia Schenk, Lawyer, Transparency International, Germany
Mr Alok Kumar Pateria, Police Officer (retired), Indian Police Service
Ms Ann Encontre, former Director of UNHCR’s Ethics Office
Ms Anja Kaspersen, IEEE SA Director, Frontier Issues and Emerging Spaces and Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs Senior Fellow/Co-Director, AI and Equality Initiative.
Secretariat
INTERPOL General Secretariat Ethics Office
