INTERPOL Dismantling Strengthening the Tools of Oppression Recommendations on Interpretation of INTERPOL’s Rules INTERPOL should publish the Refugee Policy on its website, along with guidance on its interpretation. INTERPOL should specifically include within the Refugee Policy a presumption that refugee status exists where evidence of that status is provided by the individual concerned (or their representative) and where the status-granting State has not disputed the validity of the refugee status within a period of one month. INTERPOL should clarify and publish how it protects the confidentiality of information provided by a person with refugee status in dealings with General Secretariat staff, CCF members and the NCB from the Member State from which protection has been sought. INTERPOL should amend the Refugee Policy so that it provides clarity on the application of the Refugee Policy where subsidiary protection has been provided in lieu of refugee protection, and extend the application of the policy to individuals who have been naturalised following the grant of refugee status. INTERPOL should adopt a policy on extradition refusals that is similar to its Refugee Policy – under which there is a strong presumption that an INTERPOL alert violates Article 2 and/or 3 of its Constitution if there has been a decision to extradite on human rights and/or political motivation grounds. INTERPOL should provide guidance to Member States as to the limitations of INTERPOL alerts and their use as the basis for denying or delaying access to refugee status. Member States should not treat the existence of a Red Notice or a Diffusion as reliable evidence for the purpose of denying or delaying access to refugee status. INTERPOL should collate data on (i) the number of requests for INTERPOL alerts refused on the basis of the refugee policy; (ii) the number of people with refugee status requesting deletion of INTERPOL alerts on the basis of Refugee Policy; (iii) the number of cases in which the CCF does not apply the Refugee Policy in response to a request to do so and the reasons why; and (iv) the average length of time between submission of deletion requests to the CCF on the basis of the Refugee Policy and the decision to delete the INTERPOL alert. Member States should help INTERPOL to remove INTERPOL alerts against refugees by either: a) encouraging refugees subject to an alert to request its removal; or b) with the consent of the individual, sharing information about the grant of refugee status with INTERPOL. INTERPOL should stand by its commitment to publish a Repository on Article 2 of the Constitution. INTERPOL should continue to engage with the UN Committee against Torture and other human rights bodies as it develops the Repository. UN treaty bodies and special mandates and other human rights bodies are encouraged to offer support to INTERPOL in developing a framework through which it can demonstrate its commitment to human rights protection. The CCF is encouraged to continue publishing decisions which provide an insight into its interpretation of Article 3. INTERPOL should consider adopting the test in Article 3(b) of the UN Model Extradition Treaty as it is applied by extradition courts. As a first step, INTERPOL should commission and publish an expert study analysing relevant international extradition law and its own obligations. 63