Workshop on Human Rights-Compliant Investigation Techniques for Iraqi Law Enforcement and Intelligence Services from Kirkuk Governorate

The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and the National Security Advisory (NSA) of the Republic of Iraq, conducted a three-day workshop for personnel from the Iraqi security apparatus working on counter-terrorism cases in Kirkuk Governorate, members of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR), the academia, and with the participation of civil society representatives.

Held from 24-26 February 2025, the workshop discussed human rights – compliant interrogation techniques, with a focus on the psychological aspects and human rights considerations. Through a dialogue between IHCHR and security personnel, the workshop explored the legal challenges and human rights norms relevant to interrogations as part of counter-terrorism cases. Participating security professionals gained experience in putting human-rights compliant techniques into practice, obtained further understanding of the structure of the IHCHR and its mandate to better interact with its provincial teams in observing human rights, and engaged in interactive discussions and working groups, sharing experiences and strategies to address challenges in their respective fields. A session was dedicated to human rights standards within the counter-terrorism context and the Iraqi legal framework.

In his presentation, Mr. Sarmad Hikmat, Secretary General of the National Committee of Combating Terrorism at the National Security Advisory (NSA) of the government of Iraq, reiterated NSA’s commitment to human rights compliance. NSA further highlighted the delicate situation of Kirkuk Governorate that requires additional attention from security actors given its diverse composition of population encompassing different ethnicities and minority groups. On her part, the Kirkuk head of office of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (IHCHR) emphasized the commission's critical role in safeguarding human rights during terrorism-related criminal procedures. UNOCT and experts underscored the importance of complying with human rights while preventing and countering terrorism.

Follow-up activities to this workshop will include additional trainings for entities in selected governorates, namely Anbar, Salah al-Din, and Diyala through roundtables on human rights in counter-terrorism, and the addition of a trainer’s manual on human rights in counter-terrorism into existing security forces’ training curricula. A notable outcome from this workshop was the agreement to include the psychological aspects of investigation of counter-terrorism cases into the above-mentioned trainer’s manual. UNOCT HRGS team in Baghdad is actively working on this integration step.