Kurdish Diaspora Confederation – Diakurd
§1 Name and registered office of the association
The name of the organization in Kurdish is “Konfederasyona Kurdên Diaspora” or “Konfîdrasyonî Kurdanî Diaspora”. The organization is officially called “Kurdish Diaspora Confederation” in English. The abbreviated name of the organization is “Diakurd”, and the organization can use the short name officially.
The organization is based in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. Depending on the conditions, the executive board can move the center to another country.
§2 Purpose and tasks
Kurdish Diaspora Confederation (Diakurd) is ethically, politically and religiously independent. Diakurd promotes democracy, freedom, peace, equality and justice in society. Diakurd works for the Unity of the Kurdish People in Diaspora and Kurdistan.
The main purposes of the Diakurd are:
- To deepen co-operation within the members and other Kurdish organizations, and to develop Kurdish civil society in Diaspora:
Diakurd is an umbrella organization for the Kurdish federations in Diaspora. The organization works for extending and developing coordination of national activities of the Kurdish organizations in Diaspora. Diakurd as such and together with its members stands for the interests of Kurdish society in Diaspora. It promotes Kurdish identity and culture in Diaspora and represents the Kurdish Diaspora. - To strengthen the integration of the Kurdish society in Diaspora and its relations with other nations:
Diakurd encourages all Kurds living in Diaspora to study, work and participate in politics and network with other societies. Diakurd aims to strengthen Kurdish relations with other nations and to create a constructive atmosphere for cultural, social and political dialogue within the Kurdish and other societies. - To promote the national interests of the Kurds and the rights of the people of Kurdistan:
Diakurd supports the rights of the Kurdish people for co-existence, freedom, democracy, equal rights and self-determination in all parts of Kurdistan. Diakurd intends to lobby interests of the Kurdistan and Diaspora Kurds in connections with local and international decision-making bodies. The objective of Diakurd is to organize the Congress of Kurdish diaspora in the future.
To accomplish its purposes, Diakurd
- Coordinates, and participates in the implementation of the joint activities of the member organizations.
- Organizes seminars, events and courses for its members, associations, other Kurdish organizations, Kurdish authorities in all parts of Kurdistan, and other stakeholders who share the same values.
- Plans and implements projects with the member associations and other stakeholders.
- Establishes relations and influences public opinion on the Kurdish question, diaspora and related issues.
- Diakurd strives to own a place, center, company and other facilities to manage its activities.
To finance its activities, Diakurd can
- Collect membership fees and donations from its members
- Apply and receive grants from Kurdish and international organizations
- Sell products and services that conform to its core purposes
- Receive donations and legacies.
- Arrange, with appropriate permission, money collections and draws.
§ 3 Financial year
The financial year starts with the calendar year on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December. The first financial year begins with the registration in the association register.
§ 4 Membership
Any federation, associations and organizations existing legally in diaspora and fulfilling the following conditions can become a member of the Diakurd.
Diakurd’s member organizations
- Accept and support the present constitution of the Diakurd as it is.
- Recognize the Kurds as a nation with their own National Flag, National Hymn and their right to self-determination and independent Kurdish State.
In countries, where Kurdish organizations haven’t established a federation, other existing civil society organizations can apply for membership.
Membership is requested by writing a formal letter attached by official registration note, names of the board members and the list of member associations.
Federations and other civil society organizations that apply for membership between two General Assemblies and are approved by the Executive Committee can participate in the work and committees of the executive board as a semi-candidate.
The executive board decides on the membership application and sends written response to them. If the membership application is not approved, the reasons must be specified in writing.
§ 5 Termination of membership
The membership can be terminated by resignation or exclusion.
Resignation is done by writing the declaration of withdrawal to the board.
On recommendation of the executive board and/or resolution of the board, a member can be excluded by the decision of the General Assembly. The reasons for exclusion are related to the fulfilment of the membership conditions. Before the withdrawal decision, the member must be allowed to correct themselves within 3 months. The exclusion decision must be in writing and the reasons for the exclusion must be stated.
§ 6 Membership fee
The General Assembly sets the amount of the membership fee on the proposal of the board. Membership fees need to be paid each year by end of September.
§ 7 Organs of the organization
The organs of the Diakurd are the General Assembly, the Execution Board, Advisory Council, and the Auditing Committee.
§ 8 General Assembly (GA)
The GA is the highest organ of the Diakurd. Diakurd is officially announced at the first GA and after that, a regular assembly is held every 2 years. The GA is convened by the executive committee. The invitation to the GA must be sent at least 30 days before the meeting and the content must be clarified.
The duties of GA consist of the following points:
- Decisions on changing the constitution
- Assessing the activities of the past 2 years, discussing the situation in Kurdistan and the diaspora
- A review of the recommendations made by members to GA
- Defining the strategy and mission of Diakurd and proposing basic programs and activities for the next 2 years
- Election of the Execution Board
- Election of the Advisory Council
- Election of the Auditing Committee
- Approval and expulsion of members on the recommendation of the Executive Committee
- Decisions on the dissolution of the organization
Representatives of GA are appointed as follows:
- Each member federation can appoint 5 delegates to the GA.
- Private organizations (such as institutes, academies, religious centres, professional associations, etc.) that have been approved as members may send a representative to the GA.
- In countries where there is no federation, member associations may send any person as their representative to the GA.
- The members of the Advisory Council participate in the GA as representatives.
- The Individuals who have been accepted to participate in the congress.
All delegates in the GA may appoint themselves as the candidate to the Executive Committee. Candidates must be present at the GA in person or online.
Only organizations and individuals who have paid for membership fees are allowed to have the right to vote and stand for election in the GA.
§ 9 The Execution Board
The Execution Board consists of two parts:
- The first part consists of representatives of each of the member federations.
- The second part consists of the members elected by the GA in proportion to the number of federations and two deputies. In the representation geographical and gender distribution of the Kurdish society should be better considered GA elections.
The board meets at least once a month. Board meetings can also be made online. The summons and agenda are sent to the members of the board by the chairman or secretary 7 days before the meeting. The Chairperson of Diakurd leads the meeting.
In the meeting, the board decides with the present members.
The board specifically has the following functions:
- election of Diakurd Chairperson, Secretary and Chief Financial Officer
- planning and implementation of projects, activities and annual budget
- proposal to the GA on the acceptance or expulsion of members
- establishing special committees and commissions (such as youth activities, women, science, nation building, diplomacy, ecology, finance, scientific research, …).
The board can nominate individuals who have served extensively and nationally or have achieved outstanding achievements at the international level, as members of the board. Such decisions require the votes of 2/3 of the members of the board.
The right to vote to participate in the decision is the same for all members of the board. Voting can be performed openly or confidentially.
The executive board decides by a majority vote of the members present at the meeting. When the votes are the same, the Chairperson has the decision.
The Secretary writes the report of the meeting and the Execution Board approves it at the next meeting.
Deputy members can attend GA meetings, but do not have the right to vote. When a member of the management committee resigns, the first deputy member takes his/her place for the remaining time.
At the request of 2/3 of the members, the Chairperson is authorized to send an extraordinary congressional call to the members. The reasons for the extraordinary meetings must be specified in the invitation.
GA is responsible for ensuring that accounting affairs are done properly. In financial matters, the Chairperson and Chief Financial Officer have the power of attorney. The financial officer is responsible for receiving the invoices and executing them on time. S/he is also responsible for collecting revenue and grants to manage the affairs of the organization.
At the end of the financial year, the Auditing Committee sends the financial report to the management committee.
§ 10 Advisory Council
The Advisory Council is an advisory body and enriches the work of Diakurd with its suggestions and discussions. Individuals who have served nationally or achieved outstanding achievements at the international level are elected by GA as members of the Advisory Council. Their number is determined in GA.
The Advisory Council appoints its own members for its work. The Advisory Council sends its meeting minutes to the Execution Board and holds joint meetings with the Execution Board at least twice a year.
Between the two congresses, individuals can apply for Advisory Council membership by sending the request to the Execution Board. The proposed members are elected by Congress.
§ 11 Auditing Committee
The Auditing Committee is elected by Congress to control and monitor the accounting and activities of Diakurd. The number of members of the Committee is determined by the congress.
§ 12 Advocacy on behalf of the organization
The Chairperson has the right to sign on behalf of Diakurd after informing the executive committee. When the Chairperson is not present, s/he can delegate the authority to another member of the executive committee.
§ 13 Amendment of the constitution and dissolution of the organization
The decision to amend the constitution and to dissolve the Diakurd shall be taken in the General Assembly by a majority of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the votes. The notice of the GA meeting must contain the modification of the constitution or the dissolution of the organization.
During the demise of Diakurd, its fund and capitals will be divided between the federation and its member institutions.
The decision was approved by the General Assembly of the Confederation of Kurdish Diaspora – Diakurd on 22/01/2022 in Stockholm and enacted. The official constitution is published in Kurdish and English.
