Liberia has been re-integrated into the West African Police Information System (WAPIS) by Executive Order #114 issued by President George M. Weah.
The Executive Order #114, which immediately allowed Liberia to be re-integrated into the WAPIS system, is expected to last for a year.
In an effort to effectively and effectively manage the state-of-art service control room, INTERPOL has graduated twenty-three law enforcement officers with theoretical and practical training on the West African Police Information System (WAPIS).
The WAPIS program is an initiative of the West African countries under the aegis of the ECOWAS Commission, with the objective to build an effective national, regional, and international criminal threats, including transitional organized crime and terrorism.
Additionally, transitional threats and challenges do not stop at the borders, and therefore cannot be effectively tackled by one state alone. A joint, coordinated international, regional and national response is needed.
Making remarks at the closing ceremony held on Tuesday, March 28, WAPIS Coordinator at ECOWAS Commission, Mohammed Yansaneh lauded the EU for the financial support and the ECOWAS Commission for the strategic support to INTERPOL and Liberia.
Yansaneh noted, “The objective of the WAPIS Program is to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies of West African countries to fight these criminal threats effectively by improving their capacities to collect, process and analyze criminal information, and to share these data among national security agencies and with other countries in the region and beyond through INTERPOL 24/7,” he noted.
The Coordinator at ECOWAS Commission further revealed that WAPIS is supported by a multi annual program funded by the European Union and implemented by INTERPOL in all fifteen (15) ECOWAS countries, plus Mauritania and Chad, with the political strategic support of the ECOWAS Commission.
Yansaneh maintained that the aspiration of the WAPIS program is to be deployed nationwide in all the ECOWAS member states, including the border-crossing points.
“The program further aims to enhance the criminal justice sector value chain, which starts from the investigation to prosecution and correctional services, all connected with the aim of data sharing in real time,” he maintained.
He started that the system is here to reinforce collaboration and enhance inter-agency collaboration among institutions.
For her part, the Head of the EU Delegation to Liberia, Veuville Darie-Pauie, thanked INTERPOL for the level of collaboration and training, while challenging authorities and graduates of law enforcement officers to make maximum use of the training and equipment.
Darie-Pauie noted that both Africa and European voices are key to promoting international cooperate order, human rights, rule of laws and democracy.
She said helping partner-countries to strengthen their security system supports the EU objectives of peace, stability, and increases the security system, among member states.
Also speaking was ECOWAS Representative to Liberia, Josephine Nknewah, emphasized the need for the WAPIS service in the ECOWAS communities.
Nknewah, however, highlighted some of the challenges faced by regional security, calling on the Liberian government to maintain the system.