Abdelghani Hamel: “Newly Crated Crimes Are A Threat To Africa's Security”

The newly created crimes have serious implications for the security of the African continent in light of the rapid development of the phenomenon”; the General Manager of National Security, Major General, Abdelghani Hamel, in his capacity as Chairman of the African Organization for Human Rights, said in the second day of the meeting that was held at the headquarters of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) in Lyon, France, on the subject of “Countering digital and financial crime”.

Major General Hamel said that the African organization will seek an African strategy that aimed at establishing national security policies, that take into account the importance of sensitive digital installations and devotes a punitive system in the face of crimes that threaten the privacy and integrity of information systems.”

He highlighted the pivotal role that is played by AFRIPOL mechanism in “increasing the performance of the African police in the fight against new crimes”, adding that such international meetings “pave a solid ground for strengthening regional and international cooperation in combating cyber crime and financial crimes.”

He asserted the need to “strengthen international coordination to combat this type of crime through the exchange of data and information, and familiarize with the methods of criminal organizations so that there will be effective mechanisms that can be found to address them”.

The recommendations of this meeting concluded that “a high-level annual dialogue is needed to define strategic objectives to combat digital and financial crimes, and to strengthen the existing structure between INTERPOL, the public and private sectors, such as the financial sector, Internet providers and the telecommunications sector.”

One of the most important recommendations is “to develop a specialized network of experts in the fight against digital crime to exchange information and experience in this area, and to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies and the private sector by providing specialized training in the field.”

On the sidelines of the conference, the General Manager of National Security met Interpol Secretary-General, Jürgen Stock, during which he reviewed the most important aspects of enhancing cooperation and exchanging experience between INTERPOL and AFRIPOL in various security areas.