Security

More than 10,000 illegal immigrants entered Iraqi since 2023

Most of the individuals smuggled into Iraq for a variety of reasons are Bangladeshi citizens or citizens of other Asian countries, according to the center.

Kurdistan 24 2024/03/31 20:34

This is a locator map for Iraq with its capital, Baghdad. (Photo: AP)

Iraq Illegal immigrants Strategic Center for Human Rights in Iraq

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – More than 10,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested and deported since 2023, according to the Strategic Center for Human Rights (SCHR) in Iraq.

According to SCHR, human traffickers bring foreign tourists and religious visitors to Iraq in the name of tourism.

Most of the individuals smuggled into Iraq for a variety of reasons are Bangladeshi citizens or citizens of other Asian countries, according to the center.

Approximately half a million people have been smuggled into Iraq in the past, per the center.

Since 2003, the process of human trafficking for various purposes has increased significantly in Iraq as a result of the security, economic, and political situation in the country.

For the first time in 2021, the Iraqi government revealed the types of human trafficking offenses perpetrated in the country and reported that 169 people were being investigated for sex trafficking and 14 others for forced labor.

A law was passed in 2012 by the Iraqi parliament to prevent human trafficking after child labor, begging, forcing women to work in prostitution groups, and organ trafficking increased.