“The law alone is what is on paper and is voted on and legislated in parliament, but its implementation goes back to the esteemed judges that can literally implement these laws,” said Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, at the press conference.
British Consul-General in Erbil James Thornton explained the program’s vision.
“We are starting in Erbil, but we hope to be able to conduct this training in the future in Sulaimani and also with other investigative authorities,” said the diplomat.
“This is a program we’re also running for the federal Iraqi judicial system in Baghdad,” he added.
Thornton also noted that “this collaboration will enable us to work together more fully in the future on cases of mutual interest,” saying they hoped to learn about the regional judges’ experiences to “help support and inform” Britain’s own judiciary.
Proud to be launching an ambitious programme of training and mentoring with the Erbil judiciary this morning. Together with our longstanding judicial work in Baghdad, today re-affirms the UK’s steadfast commitment to supporting effective and fair criminal justice across Iraq. pic.twitter.com/LSbLUoQjpS
— UK in Erbil (@ukinerbil) January 18, 2021
The UK is also a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) and has trained Peshmerga forces since 2014.
It also signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq in 2019, to further develop military ties between the two countries.
A visiting delegation to Erbil in early December “expressed the United Kingdom’s readiness to strengthening bilateral ties and enhancing cooperation with the Kurdistan Region in all areas, including trade and investment,” read a statement from Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s office.
The Kurdistan Region “wants to bolster its relations with Britain in all fields,” President Barzani told the delegation.
Dizayee at Monday’s press conference stressed the course’s importance, emphasizing that police and the security institutions are “the protectors of the law and should also be given adequate training” so that citizens “feel secure.”
Parts of the Iraqi constitution “were revised and rewritten according to the nature and characteristics of the Kurdistan Region” over the past few years, he noted.
