Kurdistan’s rich coexistence should reflect in its constitution, PM Barzani says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s long-standing principle of coexistence needs to be reflected in any future constitution, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Wednesday.

The premier was speaking at a conference organized by the University of Kurdistan, Hewler’s Center for Regional and International Studies (CRIS) focused on unity and the constitution, which the region’s political elite has recently re-engaged on.

Such a constitution “has to be the reflection of the Kurdistan Region’s coexistence, the reflection of respect for religions and ethnicities, and it has to respect every Kurdish citizen’s right,” Barzani said on the constitution, adding that he was proud of plurality in the autonomous region.

The premier expressed his government’s readiness to foster an environment suitable for political consensus that can result in a constitution reflective of all the religious, political, and social components of the region.

The one-day conference hosted politicians and leaders of the Kurdistan Region’s various political parties, Kurdistan Regional Government ministers, and members of the foreign diplomatic community.

Another topic of the one-day conference was political unity in the region.

“Unity is not just a slogan, it requires hard work and dialogue to find a common goal,” Barzani said, saying that the political elite has to have a “framework” within which common political objectives are stipulated.

Following the premier’s speech, the head of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, spoke about the “international outlook” on political developments in the Region.

The morning’s first panel focused on “the constitution and democratic political system,” in which figures from the major political parties in the region shared their outlook on the nature of a future Kurdish constitution.

Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly