Interpol Red Notices are requests to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. It is issued by Interpol’s General Secretariat at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant.
Red Notices are not international arrest warrants, but they can help lead to the arrest and extradition of wanted individuals who are located in a different country from the one that issued the arrest warrant.
How Interpol Red Notices are Issued
Interpol Red Notices are issued at the request of a member country or an international tribunal based on a valid national arrest warrant. In order for a member country to request a Red Notice, it must first submit a request to Interpol’s General Secretariat, along with the relevant information and documents.
This includes the person’s identity and any known aliases, a description of the person, and a valid national arrest warrant. The request is then reviewed by Interpol’s Commission for the Control of Interpol’s Files (CCF), which is responsible for ensuring that the Red Notice complies with Interpol’s rules and regulations. If the CCF determines that the Red Notice is in order, it will be published on Interpol’s website and disseminated to all of Interpol’s member countries.
As of December 2022, there are 190 member countries of Interpol. There are a few countries that are not members of Interpol.
These Countries are Not Members of Interpol
Abkhazia
Kosovo
North Korea
Northern Cyprus
Palau
Somaliland
Taiwan
Transnistria
Tuvalu
Western Sahara
It should be noted that not all countries are eligible to become members of Interpol. In order to be eligible, a country must be a sovereign state and must be recognized by at least three-quarters of the member countries of the United Nations. Additionally, the country must have a competent national law enforcement agency and must be willing and able to fulfill its obligations under Interpol’s Constitution and rules.
The 3 main countries on the list above are:
Taiwan
Taiwan is not a member of Interpol. Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, is not recognized as a sovereign state by the majority of United Nations member countries. As a result, Taiwan is not eligible to become a member of Interpol. However, Taiwan does have a representative office at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, which serves as a liaison between Taiwan and Interpol. This office allows Taiwan to participate in some of Interpol’s activities, such as meetings and working groups, but it does not have voting rights or the ability to request Interpol Red Notices.
Kosovo
Kosovo is not a member of Interpol. In order to be eligible to become a member of Interpol, a country must be a sovereign state and must be recognized as such by at least three-quarters of the member countries of the United Nations. Since Kosovo is not a fully recognized sovereign state, it is not eligible to become a member of Interpol. However, the Kosovo does have a representative office at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France, which serves as a liaison between Kosovo and Interpol. This office allows Kosovo to participate in some of Interpol’s activities, such as meetings and working groups.
Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus is not a member of Interpol. Northern Cyprus, also known as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is a self-declared state that is not recognized as a sovereign state by the majority of United Nations member countries. As a result, Northern Cyprus is not eligible to become a member of Interpol. However, the authorities in Northern Cyprus do cooperate with Interpol and have a liaison office at Interpol headquarters in Lyon, France. This office allows them to participate in some of Interpol’s activities, such as meetings and working groups, but it does not have voting rights or the ability to request Interpol Red Notices.
Conclusion
Even although the vast majority of the countries in the world are part of Interpol, there remain a few countries outside of this organisation. This is mainly because the countries are not recognised or not part of the international community. Even countries that are members such as Russia and China may find it difficult to have someone arrested on an Interpol Red Notice due to political differences with the western countries who control Interpol.
The countries on this list are unable to issue Interpol Red Notices and very unlikely to detain anyone under one.
