AFRIPOL was established under the aegis of the African Union as an independent mechanism for police cooperation for Member States of the African Union. Its main objective is to establish a framework for police cooperation at the strategic, operational and tactical levels between Member States police institutions.

AFRIPOL functions on the following principles:

• Respect for democratic rule, human rights, the rule of law and good governance in accordance with the Constitutive Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other relevant instruments; 
• Respect of the Police Ethics, the principles of neutrality, sovereignty, integrity and the presumption of innocence;