"smuggling networks should be on notice that we are coming"
The UK government has signed a security pact with Iraq to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border security cooperation.
Iraqi migrants frequently rank among the top five nationalities attempting to enter the UK. Moreover, numerous smuggling networks throughout Europe are operated by Iraqi Kurds.
In the week beginning November 25, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper undertook a three-day visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to seal a series of cooperation deals to boost security.
The Home Secretary is the first UK government Secretary of State to visit Iraq since 2021. The UK government’s Border Security Commander, Martin Hewitt, accompanied her.
The UK government declared:
“A world-first security agreement has been reached between Iraq and the UK government to target people smuggling gangs and strengthen border security co-operation.”
On November 28, 2024, the Home Secretary stated:
“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.
“Organised criminals operate across borders, so law enforcement needs to operate across borders too.
“The increasingly global nature of organised immigration crime means that even countries that are thousands of miles apart must work more closely together than ever to stop these gangs getting away with it, to strengthen our border security and to stop so many lives being put at risk.
“Our new Border Security Command is already building partnerships across the world to tackle this evil trade in human lives.”
Britain will provide up to £300,000 to support law enforcement training in border security for Iraq.
The UK government pledged another £200,000 to support projects in the Kurdistan region. The goal is to “enhance capabilities concerning irregular migration and border security, including a new task force”.
Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt asserted:
“Enhancing our border security requires international efforts, which is why collaboration with Iraq and the KRI is so important.
“This work is only going to improve, which means smuggling networks should be on notice that we are coming after you.”
“As Border Security Commander, I will work with law enforcement around the world to break the business model of people smugglers and help save lives.”
The UK government will also support Iraqi law enforcement to tackle other serious organised crime, including narcotics.
This is the latest in the Labour government’s efforts to crack down on what is deemed irregular migration and dangerous people smuggling.
The UK and Iraq also signed a joint statement on migration, mainly concerning the return of people who have no right to be in Britain, such as rejected asylum seekers.
With the Labour government promising to accelerate deportations, the signing of bilateral return agreements has raised concerns about the protection of human rights in the countries to which migrants are sent back.
Enver Solomon, the CEO of the Refugee Council, stated that the government must uphold international law for all individuals, including those who have not fled persecution, when negotiating migration agreements with countries like Iraq.
Solomon added that tackling smuggling gangs and cooperating with other countries on prosecutions should not be seen as a “magic bullet” which will stop refugees from taking dangerous journeys to the UK.
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