Fair Trials welcomes the passage of the Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) provision as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
Fair Trials’ Global CEO, Norman L Reimer said:
“More and more countries are waking up to the fact that authoritarian regimes are abusing INTERPOL’s systems of Red Notices and Diffusions to target journalists, human rights activists and political dissidents. Today, the US has taken concrete action to challenge this abuse.
“The US is INTERPOL’s most influential member and its biggest donor, so this sends a loud and very clear message to other member countries that they too should do more to prevent the abuse of INTERPOL. This legislation provides a model for other countries to follow.”
The TRAP Provision means that:
- The US officially recognises the potential for Red Notices and Diffusions to be misused;
- It is US policy to support more transparency and to support further reforms to strengthen INTERPOL’s processes for screening and reviewing Red Notices and Diffusions; and
- The US authorities cannot automatically arrest or detain people solely on the basis of a Red Notice or Diffusion for the purpose of facilitating and extradition or immigration removal.
Read more about Fair Trials campaign to reform INTERPOL.
