Interpol is a valuable partner in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism. But autocratic governments around the world have realized that they can manipulate Interpol’s system of alerts — especially its famous Red Notice — to harass journalists, political opponents, and businesspeople. This is part of the wider phenomenon of transnational repression, in which the long arm of international organizations and law is perverted for repressive purposes.

The bipartisan TRAP Act — the Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention Act — introduced in the Senate and the House by the leaders of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, seeks to put the U.S. in the forefront of the fight against Interpol abuse. Please join us at The Heritage Foundation as a distinguished panel assesses the problem of Interpol abuse and the TRAP Act’s potential to prevent it.