Kurdistan takes the first baby steps in the "constitutional" thousand-mile march

Shafaq News/ It is the journey of thousand miles that began symbolically from the University of Kurdistan-Erbil, as a starting point for "Kurdistan’s Constitution", ushering in more confident leaps towards Kurdistan’s future, with all the region's ethnic, religious, and social components. It is a preview of a more stable and prosperous tomorrow and the primacy of the law’s rule.

How did the big players in Kurdistan respond to the “Constitution's Architect” proposal?

The important question is how a region can operate without a constitution. Especially a modern and open region where the government’s institutions play a great role in serving the people without conflicting with the individuals, parties, ethnic, religious, and other groups’ rights.

The "Constitution of Kurdistan" step comes at a very appropriate moment, nearly two decades after the end of the “Saddam era" and the new beginning of partnership and understanding between Iraq and Kurdistan. It is also right because Kurdistan has had enough harsh experiences that have strengthened it, whether in protecting its security and stability from terrorist threats or through the authority experience that made a figure like president Nechirvan Barzani lead through his openness to all the forces and parties in the region, as well as his skill in "roughening out the edges" on the Kurdish arena and in the relationship with Baghdad, and paves the way for the constitution's initiative with his meetings and dialogues internally before announcing it on Wednesday, "We will write a constitution agreed upon by all."

Kurdistan’s Constitution does not conflict with the conditions of interdependence with federal Iraq, which in its 2005 constitution authorizes Kurdistan to prepare its own constitution. 

Therefore, there is no need for prior Iraqi approval of the constitution - but as a matter of consensus consultation - as long as the provisions are not opposed to the federal constitution. Also, it coincided with the period when Erbil and Baghdad exchanged signs of understanding and coordination.

The constitution initiative is not new. It was launched more than ten years ago when the region’s parliament approved a "draft" of the constitution in 2009. However, it has not been formally and definitely adopted. Despite subsequent attempts to complete its adoption, it did not reach the desired conclusion until Nechirvan Barzani came to resume the path and move forward with the project that would regulate the structures of power and the limits of its work. 

Barzani has laid the ground by a series of meetings with forces and parties in Kurdistan, as well as through intensive coordination and communication with federal authorities in Baghdad until the ground is completely fertile.

The ambition is that the new constitution is linked to seeking a new page on internal differences and establishing clear standards and mechanisms that regulate the main governmental positions, whether the region’s presidency or the Prime Ministry, as well as the region’s institutions, to overcome any contradiction that may occur.

If the Kurdistan University-Erbil conference ushers in the start of the march, the obvious step later - after talking about the completion of the majority of the constitution’s paragraphs and provisions - will be presented to Kurdistan’s parliament before a popular referendum is called for the approval of the citizens, provided it receives 51% support.

In Nechirvan Barzani’s speech to the “ Unity and Constitution” conference sponsored by the University of Kurdistan-Erbil in the presence of the Region's Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, and Speaker of parliament, Rewaz Faiaq, as well as ambassadors and representatives of diplomatic missions, including the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Kurdistan’s president announced that he would begin to, “Take practical steps to write a charter for Kurdistan in cooperation with the regional parliament, representing all political, social, and national forces. The constitution must organize political governance in the region, ensure sovereignty for the law, and guarantee safety for everyone in the region."

Barzani sent many reassuring messages through his speech, “There are many components in Iraq and Kurdistan. We do not ascribe them as minorities because the beauty of the region lies in the mosaic it includes. The beauty of Kurdistan lies in the presence of those components, and the constitution must give assurances to them.”

Nothing is clearer than this universal language, and at the same time, there is no tone of supremacy or exclusivity. The constitution is not for a party, component, or sect, it is “ For all Kurdistan’s people", as Barzani said, betting again on instilling hope in the region because Kurdistan is governed by hope.

But the main point is also clearly mentioned in the title under which the conference was held, "Unity". Barzani said, “It is our duty to be united.”

On the principle of "unity," Nechirvan Barzani is in tune with Masrour Barzani, who said, "Unity is a beautiful word and a more beautiful slogan, but unity is not achieved by words, as we must unite our goals. Yet, we cannot demand unity as we move in two different directions.”

Unity in Kurdistan is crucial at this stage because the Iraqi elections are approaching. Regarding the matter, Nechirvan Barzani said, "Kurdistan is facing a sensitive stage, represented by the Iraqi election in which all parties are trying to rearrange themselves. With the current differences, we will not be able to cross this stage, but if we unite, we will certainly be able to overcome all the problems in Baghdad."

For his part, Masrour Barzani stressed the importance of unity when he said, “We have many examples of how much gains we made, including our unity in the 1991 uprising and the establishment of this constitutional entity. Also, as happened when the federal budget law was passed, through unity, we were able to pass the law and guarantee Kurdistan’s rights.”

In this sense, unity is essential to be the basis of an inclusive constitution. The constitution is not written every day and therefore must be built on a solid basis. During the conference, Masrour Barzani pointed out, "We must have a framework for our unity, and it must be within the constitution. Our objectives should not differ. We must chart a constitution that respects religions and nationalities and protects the rights of the Kurdish people.”

The idea of "Kurdistan’s Constitution" received significant support from Hennis-Plasschaert, the Special Representative of the UN secretary-general in Iraq, who concluded her speech saying that the adoption of Kurdistan’s constitution would be a force factor for all of Iraq, and stressed, "A strong Kurdistan is needed not only at the level of Iraq but also at the level of the entire region."

Hennis-Plasschaert said that ongoing attempts to unite the Peshmerga forces would be in Kurdistan's interests as a whole. She believes that any unity would be in the region's interest, and that unity should not be limited to Kurdistan’s Democratic Partie (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) but must be among all parties.

In parallel with Hennis-Plasschaert’s words and Kurdistan’s president and Prime Minister assurances, MDC General Coordinator, Omar Sayed Ali, said during a seminar on the sidelines of the conference, “Where do we get unity from if we have two administrations, two Peshmerga forces, two Asayish forces, and two finance organizations? Everything we have is divided into two,” in reference to the two main parties in the region, KDP, and PUK.

But this debate is an indispensable stage before the start of the new constitution, as the leader of the Kurdistan Justice Group (formerly known as the Kurdistan Islamic Group), Ali Bapir, said, “Fifteen years have passed since drafting the Iraqi Constitution, Until the moment, we still have no constitution because we think in a narrow scope.”

As for the Patriarch of Chaldeans in Iraq and the world, St. Louis Raphael I Sako, he enriched the discussions and ideas circulating when he said that there is no "Islamic" or "Christian" state in Iraq—pointing out that the country is for all and there is no minority nor a majority. 

He stressed that the civil constitution will pull the rug from under the feet of extremists, partisans, and sectarians, "We must not talk about the minority and the majority because Iraq is for all.”

"The state and society have no religion, and parties should not have a religion. Religion is a moral figure and not a real personality. We cannot call society or the state under any religious names. The West has overcome this and isolated the church, and that is why the West is advancing," Sako added.

After this proposal by the “Architect” Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan has a hard test to pass in the march of the "Kurdistan Constitution" to prove that it belongs to a more sophisticated and modern era.