Context:
The 91st General Assembly meeting of the Interpol, which took place in Vienna, was a momentous occasion as it celebrated the centenary year of the organization.
About Interpol:
- International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) was established in 1923.
- Headquarters – Lyon (France)
- Purpose – To help police work together to make the world a safer place.
- Members – 196 countries (including India)
- Organizational structure –
- General assembly: Supreme governing body meets annually to take decisions related to policy, finances etc.
- General secretariat: Runs Interpol’s day-to-day activities to support members in international policing
- Executive committee: Elected by the General Assembly has 13 members comprising a president, 3 Vice presidents and 9 delegates from 4 regions.
- National Central Bureaus (NCB): A Country’s focal point for all INTERPOL activities e.g., NCB in India is Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
- Key functions –
- Combating crimes across 4 global areas: Terrorism, Cybercrime, Organized crime and Financial crime and anti-corruption.
- Issues colour-coded notices of various hues.
Related News: I-Familia
Recently, the Interpol has launched a new global database named “I-Familia” to identify missing persons through family DNA and help the police solve cold cases in member countries.
- A global database for identifying missing persons.
- Based on international DNA kinship matching.
- 3 components –
- Dedicated global database to host the DNA profiles
- DNA matching software called Bonaparte
- Interpretation guidelines
Direct DNA Matching Vs Kinship DNA Matching:
- Both methods are used for identifying missing persons, but they differ in the source of the DNA samples used for comparison.
- Direct DNA matching uses samples from the missing person, while kinship DNA matching uses samples from biological relatives when the missing person’s samples are not available.
Source: Indian Express
Previous Year Question
With reference to the “United Nations Credentials Committee”, consider the following statements:
1. It is a committee set up by the UN Security Council and works under its supervision.
2. It traditionally meets in March, June and September every year.
3. It assesses the credentials of all UN members before submitting a report to the General Assembly for approval.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2022 Prelims]
(a) 3 only
(b) 1 and 3
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 2
Answer: (a)
