Judiciary training part of ‘long and fruitful partnership’ between UK, Kurdistan Region: diplomat

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The UK’s recent training of the Kurdistan Region’s judicial officials is part of a “long and fruitful partnership” between the Region and the United Kingdom, a British diplomat told Kurdistan 24.

In late January, the UK Consulate General in Erbil announced a training course for judges in the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil, where they received training in justice and security, and received awards upon completion of the program on Thursday.

“This is very much a first step for us as part of a long and fruitful partnership between the UK and the Kurdistan Regional Government on security and justice,” David Thompson, program manager at the UK Embassy in Baghdad, told Kurdistan 24.

“Given how intertwined the security sector and judiciary are in Kurdistan,” the UK intends to initiate similar activities with security organizations in the Region, including in Sulaimani province, the British diplomat told Kurdistan 24.

The UK previously began providing similar training to Iraq's judiciary sector.

“The course focused on judicial best practice both for us to understand what is done here in Kurdistan and for us to impart what is done in the UK,” Thompson said on Thursday.

The event was attended by several officials from the Kurdistan Region, including the head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Safeen Dizayee, and British diplomats.

In addition to this training, the UK has provided the Region’s Peshmerga forces with military training and advice within the framework of the international coalition against the Islamic State group. 

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly