Brazil's Valdecy Urquiza elected new Interpol secretary-general

The Interpol's General Assembly has elected Brazilian police commissioner Valdecy Urquiza as the new secretary-general of the world's largest international police organisation, succeeding Jurgen Stock who leaves on Thursday after the end of his 10-year term.

The Interpol secretary-general is responsible for the day-to-day decision-making and functioning of all General Secretariat duty stations around the world. This includes supervising all the policing activities, expertise, databases and services that Interpol provides to its 196 member countries in support of the fight against international crime.

Before his election by a majority of the organisation's member states, Urquiza had been proposed for the position by the Interpol Executive Committee in June.

"With the significant rise in transnational crime, Interpol's work has never been more important. As well as maintaining Interpol's neutrality, the next secretary-general will be charged with working with our member countries to continue the important work of tackling international criminal activity, building policing capacity and capability, and ensuring our systems continue to be used to catch the most dangerous criminals in the world," Interpol's President Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi said at the time.

The Brazilian Federal Police Commissioner, who has been serving as the vice president of Interpol, is a lawyer by training and a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI)'s National Academy in Quantico.

He has previously served as the head of the International Legal Cooperation Division of the Brazilian Federal Police and Assistant Director in the Organised and Emerging Crimes Directorate at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France.

He also led the National Central Bureau of Interpol in Brazil, the Division of International Police Cooperation, the Division of International Relations, and the Directorate of Information Technology of the Federal Police.

"Mr Urquiza impressed the Executive Committee with his experience, vision and commitment to international policing. He brings significant experience of policing, as a senior police officer in Brazil, Ahmed said.

Urquiza joins Interpol at a critical moment when its member states are grappling with a rise in security challenges occasioned by the effects of climate change and migration challenges, internal and cross-border conflict, declining adherence to human rights, organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.

The outgoing secretary-general expressed concern that the world is losing the fight against the globalisation of crime.

"The potential of gangs, cartels and organised crime groups is limitless; these trillion-dollar organisations can destabilize even the safest and most prosperous countries. As I leave Interpol, these are the five unavoidable challenges the world must take on; prioritise tackling organised crime, no safe havens for criminals. Invest in technology for police, Increase International Cooperation and support for law enforcement," he said while delivering his speech at the General Assembly meeting in Glasgow, United Kingdom.

He further implored that the organisation must retain its position as a neutral platform for international police cooperation.

"It is vital that our activities transcend domestic and global politics. This is a valuable resource which demonstrates Interpol's commitment to upholding human rights principles and the rule of law in our activities," he said.

Since joining the organization in 2014, Stock oversaw the creation of a specialised taskforce to review Red Notice requests, a review of the legal framework around the organisation's governing bodies, and a change in the funding model to focus more on public sector contributions.

Before joining Interpol, Stock, a German national and lawyer by profession, served as a senior officer of the German Federal Police.