How successful was the European Union’s 2005 Integrated Rule-of-Law mission in Iraq? This chapter of a book reviewing European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) analyses the experience of the ESDP’s EUJUST LEX Mission. This mission was established (following an assessment by the EU Council’s ‘Iraq Expert Team’) to provide training to high and mid-level officials in senior management and criminal investigation. Launched in the midst of political controversy, it has proved a useful but limited training intervention.
As a result of internal divisions within the EU over the issue of an in-country role, the mission uses a network of European training facilities and holds events in Jordan and Eqypt. It has trained over 2000 Iraqi officials in 18 countries. However, the EU mission’s inability to operate in-country has resulted in a lack of connection between the training and Iraqi legal and police processes. This has raised a number of problems:
- The mission has not been able to test the usefulness of the training provided, nor has it been able to ensure that the training integrates with the Iraqi police’s own training plan.
- Assessment of training needs and consultation on course design has been limited.
- There is limited information on how many course attendees are alive, still in their jobs, or have become promoted, let alone whether they are applying their skills.
- The Iraqi Ministry of Interior retained responsibility for selecting delegates and there is no certainty that the right officers attended courses.
- The US military runs the majority of police training activities. They regard EUJUST LEX as a professional but tokenistic contribution, due to it’s inability to assess needs, evaluate impact and provide hands-on follow-up training.
The political significance of the mission is as important as its technical mandate. Successive Iraqi governments welcomed the mission, but see its value as a mainly political sign of Europe’s engagement. It has also become a way for member states to display good will after the diplomatic fallout over the Iraq war. However, even if EUJUST LEX had been able to operate in-country, it is not certain it would have achieved more. Faced with a well-armed aggressive insurgency, the death rate of Iraqi police officers would have meant that EUJUST LEX would still have struggled to make an impact. Despite its constraints, however, the mission has achieved some successes and has provided clear lessons for future ESDP deployments.
- Out-of-country training needs to be tied much more closely to in-country activities and with national training and development strategies.
- More emphasis on monitoring, course evaluation, and mentoring of former course participants is required.
- The innovative and cost-efficient approach to out-of-country training developed by EUJUST LEX provides a guide to help shape out-of-country components of future ESDP rule-of-law missions.
- A wholesale evaluation of EUJUST LEX’s training programme is required. This could provide the basis for new assistance packages in Iraq and elsewhere.
- The network of training providers across Europe that has been developed could be used to support other interventions.
