Inauguration of the Headquarters of AFRIPOL in Algiers. 13/12/2015.

The headquarters of the African Mechanism for Police Cooperation (AFRIPOL) has been inaugurated on 13th of December 2015 in Algiers by the minister of the Interior and Local Authorities, Nouredine BEDOUI, in the presence of police representatives of more than forty countries. The inauguration of AFRIPOL headquarters, in Ben Aknoun, Algiers, was also attended by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Smail CHERGUI, the secretary general of the Arab interior Ministers council, Mohamed Benali Komane, the head of the General Directorate of National Police, Major General Abdelghani HAMEL, and Algiers’ wali (governor), Abdelakader ZOUKH.AFRIPOL headquarters, which stretches over an area of 1.4 hectare, is made up of 28 offices and two meeting halls.The inauguration of AFRIPOL took place on the sidelines of an African police chiefs meeting held the same day in Algiers, to ratify the rules governing the mechanism.AFRIPOL, to be operational in 2016, is expected to reach an overall view for a better police service in Africa, by boosting their organizational, technical and operational capacities. 

The ad hoc Committee on the establishment of the African Union Police Cooperation Mechanism – AFRIPOL was concluded its fourth meeting on 2nd June 2015 in Addis Ababa.  This meeting was attended by the Members of the ad hoc Committee, including the Co-Chairs, Algeria and Uganda, and the Chairpersons of the Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organizations, including the National Commissioner of the South African Police Services as the Chairperson of the Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) and the representative of the Chairpersons of the Eastern African Police Chiefs Committee (EAPCCO). The meeting was also attended by representative of International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and staff of the AU Commission.