Self-determination is the principle that peoples have the right to participate meaningfully in determining their political status and to pursue their economic, social, and cultural development. It has played an important role in modern international relations and in debates over decolonization, democracy, autonomy, federalism, and national rights.

For the Kurdish people, self-determination has been a central question for more than a century. Following the First World War and the creation of the modern political order in the Middle East, Kurdish-populated territories remained divided principally among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. Kurdish communities in these states have since pursued different forms of political recognition, cultural rights, self-government, autonomy, federalism, and, at times, independence.

KCA supports the right of the Kurdish people to express their political aspirations freely and democratically and to participate in determining their own political future. The practical form of self-determination may differ according to the circumstances of each part of Kurdistan, but any durable solution to the Kurdish question should respect the will, identity, rights, and democratic representation of the Kurdish people themselves.