ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s efforts to combat drug trafficking and use have been recognized at an anti-narcotics conference in Tunisia, a government official said on Friday.
"Iraq won first place at both the Arab and international levels in the awards for best performance and field cooperation in combating narcotics, which are granted annually by the General Secretariat of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers on the sidelines of the Arab Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Agencies held in Tunisia," said Ahmed al-Zarkani, in charge narcotics affairs at the interior ministry, state media reported.
The 39th Arab Conference of the Heads of Anti-Narcotics Agencies took place this week in Tunis. The conference serves as a platform for exchanging experiences, reviewing the implementation of previous recommendations, and addressing emerging trends in drug production, trafficking, and consumption.
One of the issues discussed at the conference, according to its final statement, is the growing use of cannabis as legalization of the drug is trending globally. Marijuana is illegal in Iraq.
Combatting the drug trade and use has been a focus of the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. The country, once mostly a transit route, has increasingly become a destination for narcotics - prompting alarm among officials and the public.
Zarkani said the government has begun "unprecedented attention to the fight against narcotics since the beginning of 2023, which has enabled the relevant agencies to shift from the classic policing approach to an advanced, intelligence-based approach that relies on regional coordination and information exchange with neighboring countries and European countries."
Sudani in 2023 also ordered the establishment of rehabilitation centers in all Iraqi provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region, as part of his cabinet’s stated commitment to combat drugs as seriously as it fights terrorism.
Iraq is now "considered one of the leading countries regionally in developing methods of confrontation and international cooperation in this field,” said Zarkani.
"The Iraqi experience has received widespread Arab, European, and international attention, as it is considered a model in the speed of decision-making and the integration of security and judicial work,” he added.
Iraqi authorities have seized 13 tons of narcotic substances since 2023, according to the ministry, adding strict judicial rulings, including death sentences, have helped deter major dealers. More than 270 death sentences have been handed down in comparison to five in the previous ten years.