Singapore highlights its role in UN peacekeeping operations

PM Lee said that he supports the partnership of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) and INTERPOL to bring the role of police peacekeepers to the forefront of the international security agenda.

Speech by Mr. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, at opening ceremony of INTERPOL – UN Ministerial meeting and 78th INTERPOL General Assembly, 12 OCTOBER 2009

Enhancing International Police Cooperation
INTERPOL plays a vital role as the largest police organisation dedicated to international cooperation. It brings together 187 member countries and facilitates international police cooperation even where diplomatic relations do not exist between particular countries. It does this by respecting the limits of existing laws in the different countries. Its constitution forbids any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. This encourages member countries to contribute information on fugitives, terrorists, stolen goods, and stolen or lost travel documents. These are then collated into databases which can be accessed securely. Such cooperation has enabled countries to extend the long arm of the law beyond traditional borders to take collective action against a common enemy.

INTERPOL has led or coordinated many successful operations to cripple international syndicates. It has also helped to build global capacity in police agencies, through training and establishing intelligence-sharing protocols for member states. These efforts have enabled police authorities all over the world to prevent, detect and suppress crime.

Singapore benefits greatly from international police cooperation. We are an open, cosmopolitan city, highly connected to the world. Working with other police services multiplies our effectiveness. Through INTERPOL, wanted criminals and terrorists have been returned to Singa¬pore to face justice. We use the Mobile INTERPOL Network Database system to screen travel documents at checkpoints for stolen or lost passports. We have also participated in joint operations. For example, the Singapore Police Force was part of a regional task-force together with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in two INTERPOL-coordinated operations, codenamed SOGA 1 and 2, which were held in 2007 and 2008 respectively. These two highly successful operations targeted illegal soccer gambling controlled by organised crime gangs. Operation SOGA 2 alone resulted in the arrest of over 1,300 persons across the various countries, and disrupted betting records of almost US$1.5 billion.

By continuing to eschew political, religious and racial considerations, we will maintain the common ground for fruitful cooperation. Singapore is also keen to do our part. Our police force is a small one, but our officers are happy to help wherever we can. It was a great honour for our Police Commissioner, Mr Khoo Boon Hui, to be elected as INTERPOL’s president last year.

Supporting International Peacekeeping
Besides fighting crime, police officers have taken on growing responsibilities in international peacekeeping. This has come about because international agencies increasingly recognise the valuable roles that civilian police forces can play. While military forces are indispensible for establishing initial security, civilian police forces are more suited for law and order tasks and for maintaining security. Police officers by instinct and training are more adept at keeping the peace. They do so by building strong institutions and proper governance systems and by progressively establishing an orderly environment that can be sustained over a long period. Consequently, the number of Police officers deployed in peace-keeping operations worldwide has increased from just over 100 in 1964, half a century ago, to more than 12,000 now, and demand for their services continues to grow.

Singapore has actively contributed to peacekeeping operations. Since 1989, over the last two decades, nearly 450 civilian police officers have taken part in 10 peacekeeping operations. We have been involved in various missions, usually under UN auspices – police training, enhancing the operational readiness of local police, and supervising UN-sponsored elections. We have been in Cambodia and Nepal, and further afield, in Namibia and South Africa. Currently, the Singapore Police Force has a 21-member contingent serving in Timor-Leste.

Singapore takes its peacekeeping duties seriously. In our globalised world, disorder or worse breakdown of political authority in one country threatens regional and international security. Failed states can become breeding grounds for international terrorism or bases for transnational criminal organisations. Countries therefore need to help others to help themselves. When we commit police peacekeepers to rebuild failed states, promote good governance and foster sustainable peace, we are also contributing to our own security. Hence I support the partnership of the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) and INTERPOL to bring the role of police peacekeepers to the forefront of the international security agenda.

Singapore has also provided indirect support. From 1994 until the programme ended in 2005, in other words, for more than a decade, we collaborated with the United Nations Institute of Training and Research (UNITAR), to host a number of international conferences. These conferences bring together peacekeepers, policy-makers, academics and research teams, in order to pool their expertise and improve the conduct of international peacekeeping.

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