The United Kingdom has inked a security partnership with Iraq to improve border cooperation and target smuggling networks, a major step in addressing the rising problem of people smuggling. As part of the UK’s larger efforts to combat illegal migration, British Interior Minister Yvette Cooper announced the deal during her tour of Iraq and its Kurdistan region.
“There are smuggler gangs profiting from dangerous small boat crossings whose operations stretch back through northern France, Germany, across Europe, to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and beyond,” Cooper explained in a statement on Thursday. She emphasized the international nature of these criminal networks, noting, “The increasingly global nature of organized immigration crime means that even countries that are thousands of miles apart must work more closely together.”
Organized crime doesn’t respect borders, she said, so tackling it requires cooperation on a global scale. The agreement recognizes that law enforcement organizations from several nations must cooperate and pool resources.
Helping to Secure Iraq’s Border
Up to £300,000 ($380,000) has been allocated by the UK to train Iraqi law enforcement officials on border security methods as part of the deal. Along with increasing the general capability of Iraq’s border enforcement, the training will concentrate on strengthening their ability to combat drug trafficking and organized immigration crime.
The program is regarded as a crucial step in dismantling the smuggling networks that take advantage of weaker individuals, many of whom travel dangerous distances in pursuit of a better life. The UK intends to block a key route that these criminal groups utilize by strengthening Iraq’s border security capabilities.
Smuggling networks which this agreement aims to disrupt are frequently implicated in both enabling unsafe crossings, including small boat activity to the UK. These journeys not only put lives at risk but also fuel a broader crisis that has become a significant political issue for the British government.
Cooper’s stay in Iraq calls out the need for multilateralism to address the vulnerabilities at the source of irregular migration. Focusing on countries such as Iraq, the UK seeks to deal with the problem at the source rather than solely dealing with its consequences.
Strengthening Ties Between the UK and Iraq
The memorandum also refers to the further development of relations between the UK and Iraq, in particular in fields of common interest, such as security and prevention of crime. Although the grant may appear small in comparison with the magnitude of the problem, it is a significant initial step to achieve a more coordinated response to organized immigration crime.
In the words of Cooper: Criminals who are organized act on transnational scales and, as such, law enforcement must act on a transnational scale”, this quote embodies the spirit of that agreement, which, in the last analysis is about cooperation and joint responsibility in response to a transboundary problem.
With this agreement now being implemented by the UK and Iraq it is hoped that such will result in some real action against the networks that operate the smuggling trade and better border security practices. For those victims of these crimes, the pacts are a step toward safer, more secure migration infrastructures and the prevention of criminal gangs to act irresponsibly.
For the time being, the emphasis is on maintaining and enhancing partnerships and developing the instruments required to address these trans-boundary and complex issues.
