Portland, Oregon, USA (us.gov.krd) - KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman spoke at the headline debate at Lewis and Clark College’s 56th International Affairs Symposium, “The Scramble for Sovereignty: Modern Challenges to an Age-old Construct”.

The annual event in Portland, Oregon is the oldest student-run symposium in the US and highly acclaimed by the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Representative Abdul Rahman spoke about Kurdistan’s struggle for independence, alongside Dr. Aleksandar Pavkovic, a leading academic in the study of secessionist movements. In a debate on whether federalism encourages separatist movements, Ms Abdul Rahman argued that in Iraq’s case, the opposite was true and that Iraq could only remain unified if the federal structure laid out in the Iraqi constitution is implemented. 

Other events during the three-day symposium included debates with professors and experts on international sovereignty, focusing on a variety of topics included foreign aid, humanitarian intervention, cybersecurity, and trade.

Separately from the symposium, Representative Abdul Rahman spoke at a breakfast briefing hosted by World Oregon. She also had the opportunity to speak to a Middle East Politics class at Lewis and Clark College.