The Kurdistan National Congress (Kongreya Netewî ya Kurdistanê, KNK) was founded in Amsterdam on May 24, 1999, in the presence of 700 Kurds and guests. It was created to incarnate the moral unity of the Kurdish nation, without ignoring, however, the division of Kurdistan between four states; to bring remedy to disunion or conflict between Kurdish political parties; to elaborate norms of solidarity and a concerted strategy for democratic solution to the Kurdish question within the existing states, and to work on the national and international level for the promotion of the right to self-determination of the people of Kurdistan.
The KNK could best be compared to the ANC of the time of Apartheid in South Africa or to the PLO prior to the Oslo agreement. Yet, it is not a military organization, but a political and national organization which is based on democracy. It works based on peaceful, diplomatic and educational means.
The Kurdistan National Congress has its headquarter in Brussels as well as offices in Hewlêr (Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan) and Qamişlo (Rojava, Syrian Kurdistan).
