Kurdistan Democratic Party Marks 79th Anniversary, Reaffirming Commitment to Kurdish Rights

Sema

The Kurdistan Democratic Party marks its 79th anniversary, coinciding with President Masoud Barzani’s birthday. Statements from party leaders reaffirmed the KDP’s commitment to Kurdish rights, democratic principles, and resolving issues with Baghdad through constitutional means.

Here’s the English translation of your full text about the 79th anniversary of the founding of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP):

Today marks the 79th anniversary of the founding of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, established under the leadership of the late leader Mullah Mustafa Barzani on August 16, 1946. Since its inception, the Party began its political and armed struggle based on a firm belief in human rights, social justice, sustainable development, political, ethnic, religious, and cultural pluralism, peaceful coexistence, freedoms, equality, and the right to self-determination for the Kurdish people.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)

The KDP is a national party that believes in human rights, social justice, individual freedoms, and the Kurdish nation’s and other nations’ right to self-determination. It strives to achieve these goals through scientific methods and peaceful, democratic means inspired by the Kurdish national liberation movement, the legacy of the immortal Barzani, and the experiences of other nations, in a way that aligns with the reality of Kurdistan.

The Party was founded on August 16, 1946, led by the spiritual father of the Kurds, Mullah Mustafa Barzani. Initially named the Kurdish Democratic Party, the name was officially changed to the Kurdistan Democratic Party at its third congress held on January 26, 1953, in the city of Kirkuk.

Party Goals

National-Level Goals

• Strengthen bonds of solidarity, cooperation, and brotherhood among Kurdish parties, peaceful organizations, and diaspora communities to achieve legitimate national goals through peaceful means.
• Promote a culture of dialogue and tolerance within the Kurdish community and reject the use of force.
• Work to internationalize the Kurdish cause within international and regional organizations and secure observer status for the Kurdish liberation movement.
• Restore all areas detached from the Kurdistan Region based on Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution and affirm the Region’s borders accordingly.
• Defend the rights of Kurds living outside the Kurdistan Region as inseparable from the Kurdish nation and maintain strong social and cultural ties with them.

Iraqi National-Level Goals

• Build a civil society governed by the rule of law and equal opportunities, where everyone coexists under a transparent and fair national government.
• Establish a democratic, parliamentary, and federal system in Iraq that ensures full citizenship rights and maintains Iraq’s sovereignty and international standing.
• Preserve and develop the political, economic, cultural, and national gains achieved through the Kurdish people’s long and bloody struggle.
• Strengthen national unity in both Kurdistan and Iraq and find constitutional solutions to unresolved issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government.
• Ensure all Iraqi components are represented in federal constitutional institutions.
• Guarantee the participation of the people of Kurdistan in political decision-making at the federal level.
• Uphold the federal constitution as the true expression of the Iraqi people’s will and the sole guarantor of Iraq’s unity.
• Ensure the national, cultural, and administrative rights of Turkmen, Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Armenians.
• Safeguard the religious and sectarian rights of all communities in the Kurdistan Region to freely practice their rituals and establish councils to manage and develop their cultural and social affairs.
• Foster strong relations with parties in Kurdistan and Iraq that believe in the constitution, democracy, human rights, federalism, and the Kurdish right to self-determination.
• Promote the principle of coexistence and a spirit of tolerance among all ethnic and religious groups.
• Ensure Iraq fulfills its international obligations, particularly regarding human rights, minority rights, and the right to self-determination.

Regional and International Goals

• Strengthen friendly and cooperative relations between the Kurdistan Region and neighboring countries based on mutual interests, respect, good neighborliness, non-interference, and peaceful conflict resolution.
• Commit to the objectives and principles of the United Nations and respect all international treaties and conventions that do not conflict with the interests of the Kurdish people.
• Support efforts by friendly states and international organizations—governmental and non-governmental—in advancing political, economic, and cultural development in Kurdistan through peaceful and fair solutions.
• Launch an international campaign urging countries and the United Nations to defend oppressed nations and support their political independence and socio-cultural development.
• Build cooperative relationships with peoples, parties, and NGOs that support the Kurdish cause.
• Establish Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative offices abroad in accordance with the Iraqi Constitution and create conditions for foreign consulates to open in the Region to foster diplomatic, cultural, and economic ties.
• Seek observer status for the Kurdish liberation movement at the UN and its agencies to ensure protection against future oppression or genocide.
• Deepen relations with international organizations—especially the UN—and establish mechanisms to secure KRG participation in international conferences and forums.

Activating Party Branches Abroad

• Build strong ties with democratic parties abroad that support human rights and the Kurdish right to self-determination, and encourage them to support the Kurdish cause.
• Provide greater attention and support to KDP members and supporters living abroad.
• Assist KRG missions in strengthening connections and providing administrative and humanitarian aid to the Kurdish diaspora.

Party Congresses Since Founding

1. First Congress: August 16, 1946 – Secret meeting at Said Fahim’s house in Baghdad, attended by 70 representatives.
2. Second Congress: March 1951 – Held at Ali Hamdi’s house in Baghdad, with ~30 representatives.
3. Third Congress: January 26, 1953 – Held in Kirkuk with 35–40 representatives. Party name changed to “Kurdistan Democratic Party.”
4. Fourth Congress: October 4–7, 1959 – Held at Kakay Ziyad’s house in Baghdad, overseen by Mullah Mustafa Barzani.
5. Fifth Congress: 1960 – Held at party headquarters in Baghdad.
6. Sixth Congress: Early July 1964 – Held in Qaladze.
7. Seventh Congress: November 15, 1966 – Held in Kalala.
8. Eighth Congress: July 1, 1970 – Held in Nawperdan with 488 representatives.
9. Ninth Congress: October 4, 1979 – Held in Mergasor. Masoud Mustafa Barzani elected party president unanimously.
10. Tenth Congress: December 2–12, 1989 – Held in Mergasor with 332 participants.
11. Eleventh Congress: 1993 – Held in Erbil, capital of the Kurdistan Region, with 2,167 representatives.
12. Twelfth Congress: October 6–14, 1999 – Held in Erbil with 1,473 participants.
13. Thirteenth Congress: December 11–18, 2010 – Held in Erbil with over 1,500 representatives.
14. Fourteenth Congress: November 3–6, 2022 – Held in Duhok.