On 16-17 May 2022, EUAM Iraq organised a workshop on Policing Public Protests in Erbil, Kurdistan Region Iraq, for 12 ‘silver commanders’ from the region to share best practices in the field.

The aim of the workshop was to empower mid-upper level commanders of the local police force, the so-called ‘silver commanders’, by providing them information and tools to take better decisions  on the ground in public protest situations. 

The workshop provided theory, but also examples and practical exercises on decision-making, taking into account the human-rights based approach of policing public protests. 

One of the participants at the event, Lt. Colonel Pinar Mohammad Nori from Sulaimaniya civilian activity police, commented his experience as a beneficiary of the workshop programme as follows:

‘This kind of a workshop is very new for us. I feel like we are getting tools. They help us to know what I have to do in the real field to manage crowds. I hope there will be more workshops and activities like this’.

Donal O’Driscoll, EUAM Iraq’s Adviser on Command, Control & Crisis Management who facilitated the workshop, expressed his gratitude for the cross-fertilisation and information exchange at the event:

‘I really feel that in the context of participating in these workshops, we are here to work with our Kurdish and Iraqi colleagues. There is not a one-size-fits-all approach for police protesting - there are differences in culture, in legislation, processes etc. But we are all sharing policing experiences from our different countries and even continents. There is mutual benefit in this for everyone as the officers benefit a lot from learning from each other’s failures and successes’. 

Handing out the certificates to the course participants, Major General Tarek Ahmed, Director General of the KRI Police thanked EUAM Iraq for facilitating the workshop and expressed his hope for a continuation of such activities for the benefit of the police force in the region – who hold the responsibility for providing the safety and order for the citizens of Iraqi Kurdistan.

This event was a follow-up of an initial workshop which took place in Erbil in September 2021 and was equally held at the Security Development Institute of the Ministry of the Interior in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Read more: Workshop on Public Policing held in Erbil (26-29.09.2021)