The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) presented its strategy for combating migrant smuggling at the 13th Meeting of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Working Group on the Smuggling of Migrants in Vienna, emphasizing that criminal networks—not the migrants they exploit—must remain the focus of law enforcement.

Representing the KRG as part of the Iraqi federal delegation, Dr. Dindar Zebari, the KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, said the Region's approach combines law enforcement, judicial cooperation, human rights, and international partnerships. He noted that KRG policies are aligned with the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Council's 2025 Universal Periodic Review and international anti-organized crime standards.

Zebari said Kurdish authorities registered 114 migrant smuggling cases in 2024, involving 65 foreign suspects, while continuing to target trafficking networks rather than migrants themselves. He cited the arrest of suspects linked to a deadly boat disaster off Italy and the dismantling of another international smuggling network as examples of the Region's efforts.

He also highlighted the KRG's humanitarian response to migration crises, including assistance to victims of the Italy tragedy and the repatriation of migrants from Libya and Tunisia. According to Zebari, more than 319 people returned from the two countries in 2025, while nearly 200 additional migrants were assisted through joint coordination in early 2026.

The KRG also underscored its growing international cooperation, including a security partnership with the United Kingdom aimed at strengthening border management, combating irregular migration, and expanding voluntary return programs.

Addressing UN delegates, Zebari stressed that migrant smuggling is a transnational crime requiring coordinated international action, judicial cooperation, intelligence sharing, and stronger protection for vulnerable migrants alongside efforts to dismantle organized criminal networks.