INTERPOL Dismantling Strengthening the Tools of Oppression should also be cautious about the disclosure of sensitive information, such as the grant of refugee status, without consulting the individuals concerned. We have also seen positive examples of Member States making helpful contributions to the CCF’s complaints handling procedures. We can see from CCF decision excerpts that, for example, Member States that received extradition requests from countries that issued INTERPOL alerts are frequently consulted. We also know from cases we have worked on that Member States can also advocate strongly for their own citizens, and those to whom they have granted protective status, with positive results. 144. Civil society organisations often, as a matter of course, collect information about patterns of human rights abuse and the experiences of vulnerable groups (such as human rights defenders, journalists and political activists). There is, therefore, potential for civil society to assist INTERPOL by sharing information which may help to improve the quality of its decision-making. For example, we have collaborated with other civil society organisations to notify our concerns about the misuse of INTERPOL alerts by Turkey in response to the arrest of Dogan Akhanli,138 and we have alerted INTERPOL about the risk that Azerbaijan might try to use an INTERPOL alert against Leyla Yunusova, a prominent human rights defender, following a domestic court decision seeking her arrest. 139 145. Similarly, international bodies – such as the UN Treaty Bodies and Special Mandates – have a wealth of information, both relating to patterns of human rights abuse and individual complaints which we know INTERPOL and the CCF will treat as determinative to the extent it is relevant to specific cases. We hope that INTERPOL will be willing to engage constructively with such bodies in order to maximise the potential for information-sharing. 146. The effectiveness of implementation can only be determined through diligent monitoring. The ability of civil society and the legal community to engage in such monitoring will continue to be inhibited so long as INTERPOL does not publish data on the impact of its reforms. INTERPOL is therefore encouraged to collate and regularly publish data which will facilitate this process. The call for INTERPOL to improve its data collection has been echoed in the PACE Report.140 147. In the absence of INTERPOL-produced statistics, we will work with civil society and the legal community to monitor the implementation of the reforms through other means, including media monitoring. We know that Bernd Fabritius, the former German MP responsible for the PACE Report, also committed to monitoring the implementation of INTERPOL reforms and we hope his successor will continue to be a close ally in this endeavour.141 148. As highlighted earlier, the NDTF and the CCF perform crucial roles in the implementation of INTERPOL’s reforms, but they face serious capacity challenges. They need adequate funding and continued support which will give them the necessary tools, influence, expertise, and manpower in order to carry out the functions effectively. However, the long-term future of the NDTF and the CCF is not guaranteed. Already, countries have been expressing misgivings about the additional checks and reviews that prohibit them from issuing INTERPOL alerts as easily as in the Fair Trials, ‘INTERPOL urged to act as Turkish journalists targeted with international alerts’ (1 September 2017) Available at: https://www.fairtrials.org/ interpol-urged-to-act-as-turkish-journalists-targeted-with-international-alerts/ Federation Internationale de Droits de l’Homme, ‘Azerbaijan/Netherlands: Open letter to INTERPOL on Leyla Yunusova and Arif Yunus case’ (12 June 2017) Available at: https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/azerbaijan-netherlands-open-letter-to-interpol-on-leyla-yunusova-and 140 PACE Report (n 50), para. 63 141 Confirmed during ‘Ending abuse of INTERPOL’s Red Notices: how to implement the recommendations of the PACE Legal Committee’ (Strasbourg, 26 April 2017) See Open Dialog Foundation at: http://en.odfoundation.eu/a/8187,ending-abuse-of-interpol-s-red-notices-how-to-implement-the-recommendations-ofpace-legal-committe 138 139 65