[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

IRAQ (Tier 2 Watch List) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Iraq does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  These efforts included convicting more traffickers and improving oversight of recruitment agencies in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR).  It also implemented an action plan to address recruitment or use of children in armed conflict and developed a second action plan to specifically prevent recruitment or use of children by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).  However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity.  The government reported identifying fewer trafficking victims and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) did not report law enforcement or victim identification data.  Deficiencies in identification and referral procedures, coupled with some authorities’ limited understanding of trafficking, continued to prevent some victims from receiving appropriate protection services.  In some cases, authorities did not proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, which resulted in continuing to inappropriately punish some victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as immigration and “prostitution” violations.  The government also lacked adequate protection services for victims of all forms of trafficking and did not have any shelter for adult males or LGBTQI+ victims.  Therefore Iraq was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List.

Prioritized Recommendations

Ensure trafficking victims are not punished for unlawful acts traffickers compelled them to commit, such as “prostitution” and immigration violations.

Develop and institute guidelines for proactive victim identification and referral to protection services for all relevant officials, and train officials on these procedures. 

Officially allow all relevant authorities to identify potential trafficking victims and refer them to care and/or shelter, not solely investigative judges via a court order. 

Ensure victim identification and protection measures are provided independent of the prosecution of a trafficker. 

Significantly increase unhindered access to adequate protection services for victims of all forms of trafficking and their children, including trauma and psycho-social counseling, medical care, long-term shelter, legal aid and support, translation and interpretation services, reintegration services, employment training, and financial assistance. 

Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including complicit government officials and staff and guards at government-run shelters, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms, even when victims do not participate in legal proceedings against their trafficker(s). 

Establish a legal framework, either by amending the law or through a ministerial declaration, for NGOs to operate shelters for victims, and provide financial resources, facilities, and trained personnel to such organizations. 

Amend the anti-trafficking law to ensure that a demonstration of force, fraud, or coercion is not required to constitute a child sex trafficking offense, in accordance with the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. 

Finalize regulations to enable full implementation of the anti-trafficking law.