•HRES 534 IH 
take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal 
peace’’; 
Whereas the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) meets the cri-
teria for post-Cold War state recognition set forth in the 
Charter of Paris and the Vienna Declaration; 
Whereas the KRI meets the four criteria in article 1 of the 
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of 
States, featuring a permanent population, a defined terri-
tory, a government, and the capacity to enter into rela-
tions with other states; 
Whereas the Kurdish people meet the objective requirements 
for the right of self-determination, which include a com-
mon language, religion, ethnic background, cultural herit-
age, and history; 
Whereas the KRI has proven as America’s most effective 
partner against the so-called Islamic State, providing the 
United States and coalition partners with ground forces 
sufficient as to not require substantial American ground 
forces; 
Whereas the KRI armed forces, known as ‘‘Peshmerga’’, have 
sacrificed almost 2,000 fighters, with 9,000 wounded and 
more than 60 missing during operations against the so- 
called Islamic State; 
Whereas the KRI has provided refuge and aid to nearly two 
million refugees and internally displaced persons during 
the course of the Iraqi and Syrian civil wars; 
Whereas the KRI has demonstrated commendable commit-
ment and progress for religious and ethnic pluralism, in-
cluding for their Assyrian/Chaldean Christian, Baha’i, 
Jewish, Kaka’i, Mandean, Shabak, Shia, Turkmen, 
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•HRES 534 IH 
Yazidi, and Zoroastrian minorities, in addition to dem-
onstrated commitment and progress for gender equality; 
Whereas the Kurds are a historically proven ally against tyr-
anny and terror, including against Saddam Hussein’s re-
gime, and terror groups such as al Qaeda and Ansar al- 
Islam; 
Whereas Saddam Hussein, as dictator of Iraq, pursued a 
campaign of ethnic cleansing and displacement of the 
Kurds, resulting in as many as 182,000 civilian deaths, 
with the aim of territorial expansion at Kurdish expense; 
Whereas according to United Nations General Assembly Res-
olution 2625, the right to self-determination of a people 
supersedes territorial integrity when a country has vio-
lated the ‘‘economic, social, and cultural development’’ of 
a people, and when that people have a valid territorial 
claim to the area; 
Whereas despite intractable disputes between the KRI and 
the Iraqi central government, the KRI has demonstrated 
commitment to non-violent pursuit of their statehood am-
bitions; and 
Whereas the Kurdistan Region Parliament of Iraq enacted a 
legislative mandate for Iraqi Kurdistan’s 25 September 
independence referendum on September 15, 2017, fol-
lowing formal calls from a majority of political parties in 
the Kurdistan Regional Government: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that— 
(1) the United States recognizes the sacrifices, 
commitment to human rights, and legal and moral 
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•HRES 534 IH 
case for self-determination of the residents of the 
Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), and that the resi-
dents of the KRI have the freedom to decide without 
outside coercion; and 
(2) the United States calls on the international 
community and domestic institutions to likewise rec-
ognize the right of self-determination of the people 
of the KRI. 
Æ 
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