ANNEX 1 – Excerpts from INTERPOL text on the Refugee Policy The objective of the policy is to support member countries in preventing criminals from abusing refugee status, while providing adequate and effective safeguards to protect the rights of refugees, as guaranteed under the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and other applicable conventions. In practice, according to the new policy, each red notice and diffusion request against a refugee will be assessed by the General Secretariat or, where applicable by the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL Files (CCF), on a case-by-case basis along the following general guidelines: In general, the processing of red notices and diffusions against refugees will not be allowed if the following conditions are met: 1. the status of refugee or asylum-seeker has been confirmed; 2. the notice/diffusion has been requested by the country where the individual fears persecution; 3. the granting of the refugee status is not based on political grounds vis-à-vis the requesting country. In cases where the processing of red notices and diffusions against refugees is denied, consideration will be given to sharing the information sent by the requesting country with the country of asylum so that the latter can reconsider its previous decision of granting the refugee status. If the country of asylum decides to revoke the refugee status based on the new information, the processing of Red Notices and Diffusions may be allowed if it otherwise complies with INTERPOL’s rules. With due respect for national laws, the General Secretariat will ensure the confidentiality of the information exchanged under that policy. 72 In addition, in accordance with this new policy, member countries are encouraged to systematically: 1. check INTERPOL’s databases (via the NCBs or by granting direct access to immigration authorities) when examining an application for asylum, in order to ensure that refugee status is not granted to dangerous criminals recorded in INTERPOL’s databases; 2. inform the General Secretariat and relevant member countries when a decision has been taken to refuse a person refugee status on the basis of that person’s criminal background. The policy was approved by the EC at its June 2014 session. It is therefore already in place and was implemented in a number of cases either directly by IPSG or based on CCF’s recommendations.