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Shafaq News-
\nBaghdad<\/p>\n
Iraqi
\nauthorities detained 5,107 people in human trafficking investigations during
\n2025, but only 385 victims were formally identified, the Iraqi Observatory for
\nHuman Rights (IOHR) revealed on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The figures<\/a>, The study Sexual During the “The He added According to
\ndrawn from a forthcoming study based on official statistics from the Ministry
\nof Interior and field testimonies from survivors, show that documented victims
\naccounted for just 7.5% of those detained \u2014roughly one victim for every 13
\ndetainees.<\/p>\n
\nlinks the expansion of human trafficking to years of conflict, displacement,
\npoverty, weak oversight, and corruption, describing it as an \u201corganized enterprise\u201d
\nthat exploits victims through deceptive recruitment, document confiscation,
\ndebt bondage, isolation, and threats of violence. Women, children, internally
\ndisplaced people, refugees, migrant workers<\/a>, and people with disabilities
\nremain the most vulnerable groups.<\/p>\n
\nexploitation accounted for the largest share of recorded cases in 2025, with
\n127 networks dismantled, 1,385 suspects detained, 505 convictions, and only 89
\nvictims identified. Organized begging recorded the widest disparity, with 16
\nnetworks dismantled, 2,107 detainees, and just 25 documented victims.
\nAuthorities also dismantled 63 migrant smuggling and labor exploitation
\nnetworks, identifying 233 victims, while 18 organ trafficking networks and 19
\nchild trafficking networks were uncovered, with 12 and 26 victims documented,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
\nyear, authorities processed 2,696 investigative files, completing 1,888 while
\nleaving 808 pending. Of 815 arrest warrants issued, 526 were executed and 289
\nremained outstanding, while courts convicted 711 individuals (about 14% of
\nthose detained).<\/p>\n
\nofficial indicators show that security institutions are making progress in
\npursuing a number of trafficking networks,” IOHR head Mustafa Saadoon
\nsaid. “Yet these same figures reveal an equally significant human rights
\nchallenge: the limited number of victims identified relative to the scale of
\ncriminal activity that the investigations themselves reveal.”<\/p>\n
\nthat genuine compliance with Iraq’s anti-trafficking law and international
\nstandards extends beyond arresting perpetrators to providing victims with
\nprotection, shelter, legal assistance, and medical and psychological care,
\nwhile ensuring they are not held accountable for acts directly linked to their
\nexploitation.<\/p>\n
\nthe Interior Ministry, Iraqi authorities dismantled<\/a> 36 organized crime networks
\ninvolved in human trafficking, labor smuggling, and organ trafficking during
\nthe first quarter of 2026, including seven child trafficking networks that led
\nto 16 arrests.<\/p>\n