The Kurdish National Council in Syria (KNC) was founded on October 26, 2011 in al-Qamishli. The KNC is an assembly composed of representatives of Syrian-Kurdish political parties as well as members of civil society organisations and independent personalities.
The first interim political programme of the KNC was released on April 21, 2012. The second conference of the KNC was held on January 10 and 11, 2013, the third one on June 27, 2015 in al-Qamishli. In a follow up session from June 30 to July 1, 2015 a revised political programme and a statute were adopted. Ibrahim Biro, the secretary of the Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî) was elected chairman. In addition, the Council decided that in the future the Rojava Peshmerga, an armed unit of Syrian Kurds formed in Iraqi‑Kurdistan, should be placed under the control of the Kurdish National Council. The KNC joined the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces on August 27, 2013. Since the Riyadh Opposition Conference in December 2015 it is part of the High Negotiation Committee in Geneva.
Current member parties of the Kurdish National Council in Syria
- The Kurdish Union Party in Syria (Yekîtî)
(chairman: Ibrahim Biro) - The Kurdistan Democratic Party – Syria (PDK‑S)
(chairman: Siʿud Mala) - The Kurdish Reform Movement – Syria
(chairman: Faisal Yusuf) - The Kurdish Democratic Equality Party in Syria
(chairman: Niʿmat Dawud) - The Kurdish Democratic Patriotic Party in Syria
(chairman: Tahir Sa’dun Sifuk) - The Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (el‑Partî)
(chair: vacant) - The Kurdish Democratic Union Party in Syria (Democratic Yekîtî)
(chairman: Hajar ʿAli) - The Kurdistan Democratic Union Party
(chairman: Kamiran Haj ʿAbdu) - The Kurdish Democratic Left Party in Syria
(chairman: Shalal Gado) - The Kurdistan Left Party – Syria
(chairman: Mahmud Mala) - The Kurdish Future Movement in Syria
(chairman: Siamand Hajo) - The Kurdish Future Movement in Syria
(head of the communication office: Narin Matini) - Syrian Yezidi Assembly
(chairwoman: Mizgin Yusuf) - Avant-garde Party Kurdistan-Syria
(chairman: Ismail Hesaf)