Ali Al-Barir, the chief program coordinator and head of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Iraq, confirmed today, Sunday, that Iraq has made significant progress in the fight against human trafficking, noting Iraq's efforts to connect internationally to monitor human trafficking networks.
Al-Barir stated to the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "Iraq has achieved major accomplishments in combating human trafficking," mentioning that "the Ministry of Interior previously announced the arrest of several human trafficking networks in Baghdad and the provinces."
He added that "the United Nations is assisting Iraq and the regional government in attempting to monitor certain networks that we believe operate outside Iraq and affect the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking involving Iraqis."
He pointed out that "there have been incidents occurring at sea, where Iraqis drowned between France and England among other countries, and we have assisted Iraq in communicating with international authorities to investigate this issue and the networks behind it."
Al-Barir also mentioned that "in cooperation with the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking and the United Nations, a draft of a new Iraqi law to address this phenomenon has been developed, reviewed by the Ministry of Interior, and submitted to the Prime Minister for review to be presented in upcoming legislative sessions for completion," emphasizing that "it is a new project that meets the international standards that Iraq needs in the upcoming phase."
