BY PIUS MAUNDU
@piusmaundu
Interpol’s nabbing of “the most wanted poacher” Feisal
Ali Mohammed is among the most reassuring news this year.
On a year that saw poachers down elephants and rhinos in
dozens despite spirited campaigns by conservationists to end poaching, and a
new Wildlife Conservation and Management Law (2013), all those with a soft spot
for game have something to smile about.
But in that excitement, it’s possible to overlook the
elephant in the room: runaway insecurity, and the value of international
cooperation.
That it took cooperation of security agencies in Kenya and
Tanzania to apprehend the suspected ivory trafficker is worth noting.
Cooperation is founded on the power in pulling together.
When it comes to sharing ideas on dynamic issues such as crime, it is always
prudent to come together.
This way, developing nations get an opportunity to benefit
from tested and tried solutions to issues ailing them from developed countries.
In addition, coming together helps nations realize how their
inherent cultures could dampen their attempts to develop. The case of Ebola in West Africa fits well
here.
Untoward cultural practices in handling the dead, as well as
wanting support from WHO complicates the fight against Ebola in Guinea,
Liberia, Mali, and Sierra Leone.
Similar factors are pivotal in stalling the war on
insecurity, and that is where the recent milestone by Interpol is worth
commending.
Interpol is a network of police agencies and civilians from
190 countries all over the world.
By flagging notices across its network, Interpol helps its
members stay informed on crime developments, through sharing crime related
information.
But Interpol is not the only attempt to collaborate with the
world.
The International Criminal Court, an upshot of the Rome
Statute, has been in existence to address the justice and human rights aspects
of insecurity, but sadly it’s a subject of ridicule for, according to the
critics, its affront on the sovereignty of Africans.
Working with the rest of the world enables the development
of ideas that make coordination effective when fighting insecurity.
To win the
war on crime, it pays to ensure that all efforts are legitimate. This is what international cooperation
achieves.
But international cooperation is doomed to fail in
circumstances where mistrust among partners is rife.
Branding some countries as
allies and others as foes is counterproductive in this pursuit.
In tackling the trafficking of small arms, human, and ivory
trafficking, and taming terrorism, Interpol’s triumph underlines the
inevitability the need for international cooperation.
No comments:
Post a Comment