The Kurdish cause and international law: A reading of Britain's position on the outcomes of international texts

Abstract

This study aims to provide a legal reading of the Kurdish cause in the light of the provisions of international law while revealing Britain’s position towards it through international agreements that followed the First World War, where the Kurdish issue gained its place in international law since the beginning of the 20th century after the dissolution of the Ottoman Caliphate and the conclusion of the Treaty of Sevres of 1920. which granted the Kurdish people the right to self-determination or independence and the establishment of a Kurdish state, and the social, economic, geographic, political and legal components according to the Montevideo Convention were available to build the Kurdish state. Although Kurdistan was recognized by the Ottoman authority itself, these promises quickly faded with the conclusion of the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, and Britain retreated from its position in supporting the Kurdish cause and its pursuit of its interests, especially after the allocation of Mosul lands to Iraq by issuing the advisory opinion of the Permanent Court of International Justice. Since international law in that period traditionally required the establishment of any state that provides three pillars represented in the people, the territory and political authority and in some cases international recognition, these elements are available in the Kurdish cause, but the problem is that despite the availability of these elements, Britain refused to apply the rules of international law related to the self-determination of the Kurds, taking into account its interests in the West Asia region without regard for the Kurds and their right to establish a state of their own.