A high-powered bid to get a senior Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer appointed to the governing body of global law enforcement organisation Interpol has failed after candidates from China and Qatar were elected instead.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw this week skipped a long-scheduled appearance before Senate Estimates to personally lead the effort to have Assistant Commissioner David McLean join Interpol’s Executive Committee at its annual meeting in Glasgow.

At Interpol’s General Assembly, Australia was seeking one of two vacant Asian delegate positions on the 13-member committee that is responsible for the oversight and strategic priorities of the international policing organisation.

Interpol manages numerous databases containing sensitive information, including biometrics records, and operates an international “red notice” system where countries list individuals who have fled before being arrested.

Following his unsuccessful bid for a three-year term on the Interpol committee, Assistant Commissioner McLean congratulated the successful candidates from China and Qatar and welcomed the “important contribution” they would make.

“The AFP has displayed an ongoing commitment to Interpol, its mission and values over the past 45 years, and this will only continue as we work with partner agencies from 196 Interpol member nations to contribute to the ongoing safety of our global community”.

“The increasingly borderless nature of criminal activity in the modern world and how it is enabled by constantly-evolving technology remain two of the greatest challenges for law enforcement globally.

“Interpol is a key part of how the AFP and its partners can combat these challenges and ensure safer communities for Australians, and the world at large,” Assistant Commissioner McLean said.

The ABC has been told the AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw travelled to Glasgow this week with his Chief of Staff and Close Personal Protection officers for an official business trip, which also included visits to London and Paris.

On Tuesday night, Greens Senator David Shoebridge, a long-standing critic of the AFP’s leadership, highlighted Commissioner Kershaw’s absence from Senate Estimates, after also missing another scheduled appearance this year while visiting China.

“Those watching budget estimates at home will note that in the Australian Federal Police session Commissioner Reece Kershaw is not present,” Senator Shoebridge wrote on social media.

“He once again had other commitments and chose to attend these instead of coming here tonight.”

In 2021, a group of Australian politicians joined a global fight to stop a top Chinese law enforcement official joining Interpol’s governing body, over fears it could endanger Beijing’s critics. 

Australia’s last appointment to the Interpol executive committee was AFP Assistant Commissioner Andy Hughes from 2000-2002 and this year candidates from India, Iran, South Korea, and Vietnam also missed out on Asian delegate positions.