Ahmed Atef, a former Yemeni diplomat, speaks to Rudaw on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. Photo: Rudaw/screengrab
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Nations with aspirations for more representation like Kurds can be optimistic that there is space in the international community, a former Yemeni diplomat said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“We would like to see a kind of space for every nation and every component to really have an opportunity or chance to express their inspirations and their feelings,” Ahmed Atef told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on Wednesday.
Atef has served on Southern Transition Council (STC) for US and UN Affairs. The STC, aligned with anti-Houthi forces, has renewed calls for a separate southern state through the Yemeni civil war that began in 2014.
The UN has 193 member states; however, conflicts and war often dominate international debate and headlines, leaving an unclear path for stateless nations to achieve further recognition.
“I know that there is a lot of struggle and sacrifices from the Kurdish people to peacefully try to convince the federal government in Iraq to have representation,” said Atif.
The Kurdish people have long faced oppression and persecution. Their struggle for autonomy and recognition has been marked by severe repression, including genocidal campaigns like the Anfal in Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Kurds.
“There should not be a force that would really dominate or have a kind of suppression against others because are different…. because if you have a different language or different historical background,” Atif asserted.
Kurds hold substantial representation in the Iraqi parliament and govern the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oversees domestic affairs in the Kurdistan Region, managing its security, economy, and foreign relations.
The efforts of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2017 made international headlines. The Kurdish force, a key ally of the US-led global coalition against ISIS, was able to prevent the terror group’s advances in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Kurdistan Region held an independence referendum on September 25, 2017, despite a ruling from an Iraqi federal court a week prior to suspend the vote. Although 93 percent of balloters voted in favor of separation from Iraq, the results were not enforced.
In a retaliatory move, the Iraqi army and Iran-backed militia groups drove Peshmerga forces out of the disputed areas they had controlled.
Atif expressed that Kurds still have friends who understand their aspirations.
“Before 1990, when we used to have a state, we used to have a lot of communication with our Kurdish friends,” Atif noted, adding that, “We support their struggle to have free and independent as much as possible.”
“We would like to see a kind of space for every nation and every component to really have an opportunity or chance to express their inspirations and their feelings,” Ahmed Atef told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda on Wednesday.
Atef has served on Southern Transition Council (STC) for US and UN Affairs. The STC, aligned with anti-Houthi forces, has renewed calls for a separate southern state through the Yemeni civil war that began in 2014.
The UN has 193 member states; however, conflicts and war often dominate international debate and headlines, leaving an unclear path for stateless nations to achieve further recognition.
“I know that there is a lot of struggle and sacrifices from the Kurdish people to peacefully try to convince the federal government in Iraq to have representation,” said Atif.
The Kurdish people have long faced oppression and persecution. Their struggle for autonomy and recognition has been marked by severe repression, including genocidal campaigns like the Anfal in Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of Kurds.
“There should not be a force that would really dominate or have a kind of suppression against others because are different…. because if you have a different language or different historical background,” Atif asserted.
Kurds hold substantial representation in the Iraqi parliament and govern the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) oversees domestic affairs in the Kurdistan Region, managing its security, economy, and foreign relations.
The efforts of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2017 made international headlines. The Kurdish force, a key ally of the US-led global coalition against ISIS, was able to prevent the terror group’s advances in areas disputed between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Kurdistan Region held an independence referendum on September 25, 2017, despite a ruling from an Iraqi federal court a week prior to suspend the vote. Although 93 percent of balloters voted in favor of separation from Iraq, the results were not enforced.
In a retaliatory move, the Iraqi army and Iran-backed militia groups drove Peshmerga forces out of the disputed areas they had controlled.
Atif expressed that Kurds still have friends who understand their aspirations.
“Before 1990, when we used to have a state, we used to have a lot of communication with our Kurdish friends,” Atif noted, adding that, “We support their struggle to have free and independent as much as possible.”
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment