Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, said that “the Kingdom of Morocco’s keenness to host the current session of the General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization stems from its firm commitment to strengthening multilateral security cooperation and its serious involvement in strengthening the international coalition front to confront the dangers of transnational organized crime.”
During the opening of the 93rd session of the Interpol General Assembly on Monday in Marrakech, Hammouchi added that “this Moroccan position is based on the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God grant him victory and support, who considers security a collective blessing and a shared responsibility that can only be preserved and maintained through strengthening institutional cooperation and community partnerships on the one hand, and strengthening international cooperation and synergy on the other.”
In his speech before a number of national and international figures, including Abdul Majeed bin Abdullah Al-Bunyan, President of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences, Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of the Interior, Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, as well as Mohamed Yassine Mansouri, Director General of the Directorate of Studies and Documentation, and other names, the same security official pointed out “the involvement of the national security services in Morocco in developing an integrated security strategy in which the preservation of security is not separated from respect for human rights, and in which police work is not incompatible with security communication, placing with it the basis of the police function, which is to serve the nation and the citizen and ensure their safety and security.”
He added: “Because security challenges have become transnational due to the expansion of virtual criminal structures, the interconnectedness of criminal entities and networks, and the emergence of regional terrorist threats, it has become imperative for us to create joint and indivisible security structures, in which the security services and national police agencies participate in cooperation with you, and in close coordination with Interpol and other relevant regional organizations, since achieving our collective security requires developing our national security institutions and modernizing their operational mechanisms to be at the level of citizens’ expectations of the public police service.”
The Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance explained that “if organized crime and violent extremism do not recognize borders and are not confined to a specific geographical area, then security in turn needs organic links and regional and international extensions that can successfully counter the geographical extensions of crime and terrorism,” adding that “this desired collective security cannot be achieved without strong security partnerships, without fair and equitable cooperation between countries, and without rapid and secure mechanisms for exchanging information and carrying out joint operations in more than one country and in more than one continent.”
Hamouchi explained that “Interpol plays a pivotal role in facilitating international security cooperation, strengthening multilateral police cooperation mechanisms, and embodying relations between law enforcement agencies in various member states. However, the increasing risks and security threats, and the emergence of new criminal patterns due to the misuse of modern technologies, place double responsibilities and heavy burdens on Interpol and national security agencies.”
He continued: “If we are all looking forward to the future of Interpol for a safe world in which security is the main pillar of development and the central pillar of prosperity and stability, then the path to achieving this hoped-for goal must inevitably pass through the work of the General Assembly that is meeting today in Marrakech,” stressing that “what is reassuring and reinforces our shared ambition for a more secure future is that the work of the current General Assembly is keeping pace with new security challenges and anticipating emerging unconventional risks.”
He stressed that “launching new global police capabilities for Interpol, enhancing its regional presence and operational impact, and encouraging countries to ratify the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime are all timely topics that drive greater international cooperation to combat cybercrime, which today constitutes a form of hybrid warfare aimed at undermining countries and destabilizing their security and stability.”
Hamouchi also praised “the allocation of significant space to discuss the role of women in police work in order to draw lessons in leadership for effective change in the police system, considering it a distinguished initiative that enshrines a gender approach in security work, especially in light of the great successes achieved by female police officers in practical and scientific practices, even in the most complex and dangerous operations.”
