A four-day workshop on strategic-level crisis management gave Iraqi as well as the facilitating EU police officers the opportunity to explore the wide range of elements regarding the topic – from decision-making, to different types of planning, mitigating risks and cooperation with necessary agencies. Altogether, 18 police officers from 15 Iraqi provinces benefitted from the event.

EUAM Iraq was both pleased and proud to be able to support our Iraqi colleagues and counterparts in the mutual pursuit of achieving this goal in the most demanding and challenging of security environments facing police officers in today’s Iraq.

The event, facilitated by EUAM Iraq’s Senior Strategic Advisers on Command and Control & Crisis Management, was 8^th such workshop organised since September 2021. 

One of the workshop facilitators, Donal O’Driscoll, noted:

• The workshops have so far focused on specific topics such as command roles and responsibilities and critical decision-making. At the request of our Iraqi counterparts, this and recent workshops have been expanded to cover the broader aspects of crisis and emergency management such as crisis risk analysis and risk reduction, civil resilience as well as multi-agency cooperation and response, in addition to the human rights-based policing which lies at the heart of the concept of policing public protests and events. These topics and skills aim to address the essential tools needed by senior officers facing the broad types of challenges and hazards.

EUAM Iraq’s Head of Mission Anders Wiberg, with over 30 years of experience from the Swedish police, greeted the workshop participants:

• The health of any democracy can truly be measured by its tolerance of peaceful assembly, protest and dissent. This can only happen when the police fulfil their critical but difficult and unenviable role in achieving a balance between upholding the rule of law and maintaining public order on the one hand, and protecting fundamental human rights and freedoms on the other. Being a gold, silver or bronze commander is not easy. Taking decisions in a stressful situation when your colleagues are relying on you is not a simple task. Success in achieving the range of often competing goals requires courage, skill and perseverance and we acknowledge and salute your efforts in this regard.

He concluded by hoping that the skills provided in the workshop will be useful to the participants. Wiberg also underlined that being from different governorates, the participants have a wide range of experiences themselves to share amongst each other as well as with EUAM Iraq facilitators during the four days.

To date, approximately 160 senior strategic-level officers from both Federal Iraq and Kurdistan Region Iraq have participated in the workshops organised.

It is at the heart of EUAM Iraq’s mission to be responsive and supportive to the needs of our Iraqi colleagues and it is our desire that this ongoing engagement and series of workshops with our colleagues in the LEFC, the Civil Activities Police and the Ministry of Interior’s Training and Qualification Directorate will continue in the months and years ahead.

The workshop was held from 30 October to 2 November 2022 at the Ministry of Interior Training and Qualifications Directorate in Baghdad.

Read about EUAM Iraq’s previous workshops on the topic:

EUAM Iraq and Kurdish police share best practices in policing public protests  (16-17 May 2022)

Workshop on policing public protests held in Baghdad (13-15 December 2021)

Workshop on Public Policing held in Erbil (26-29 September 2021)