Iraqi intensifies efforts to combat human trafficking

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi government has stepped up its efforts to protect victims of human trafficking. A recent report found that 158 ​​victims have been identified by anti-trafficking committees of both the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Fadel al-Gharrawi, head of the Strategic Center for Human Rights, revealed in a report on Saturday that these victims were categorized as follows: 38 victims of sexual trafficking, 17 victims of forced labor (including two children) and 26 victims of unspecified exploitation (consisting of two adult men, seven adult women and 17 children). In addition, 77 victims were identified in the Kurdistan Region.

Of the 158 victims, the federal government referred 27 to a shelter run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in Baghdad, while 35 victims of foreign trafficking were sent to a non-governmental organization for shelter. The remaining victims were sent to health care facilities or chose to remain with their families. The KRG trafficking committees identified 77 victims, including 34 who were involved in trafficking (32 women and two men) and 43 foreigners who were exploited in unspecified ways. Of these, 72 were referred to protective services.

The report also highlighted a significant increase in arrests related to human trafficking, with 636 individuals detained in 2023 compared to 129 in 2022. In 2023, 184 individuals were convicted under the 2012 Anti-Trafficking Law, including 163 for sex trafficking and 21 for labor trafficking. In contrast, 12 sex traffickers were convicted in KRG courts.

The report called for legislative and administrative reforms and urged the government and parliament to amend the Anti-Trafficking Law to improve penalties for traffickers. The report also recommended establishing protection centers for victims of trafficking in all Iraqi provinces, improving reporting and referral systems, and improving early identification mechanisms.

In addition, the report called for changes to witness protection legislation to better protect people who report trafficking, for awareness-raising campaigns to prevent trafficking, and for greater cooperation between security services, regional intelligence services and international partners to effectively combat trafficking.