Principles of Work of the Kavian Association

Principle 1 - Objectives & Values

Kavian is an association that will operate independent of the individual members. Hence, we must decide on a set of values, objectives and red lines for our cooperation. These are described below.

Values

For political collaboration, it is usual to start with ‚minimum shared values‘ and extend beyond them, when possible. The minimum shared values we envisage are the absolute bare minimum for any kind of meaningful collaboration for a democratic and free Iran. These binding values are

• Human Rights ( as defined by the United Nation declaration of the human rights and its amendments)

• Principles of Democracy (as defined by the World Bank)

• Iran's Integrity (oneness of Iranian people and its borders based on the UN Charta).

For the start of collaborations, these binding values will suffice. Nonetheless, it is good to provide a short list of values, which will not be binding, but provide a guideline for current members. These values can be found in the corresponding document.

Objectives

The long-term objective of Kavian is to contribute to the development of the organs of the administrative body of a parliamentary system for Iranians in Europe. This parliamentary system shall be a political institution we call PiE (parliament in exile). The details of this objective can change with time during the work, but the ultimate objective should not be changed. In order to undertake this immense project, Kavian will first collaborate with other Iranian associations in Europe to establish an umbrella organization. 

Principle 2 – Organizational Structure & Management

Entity

Kavian is registered as an association in Germany. The statutes of Kavian bind the organization and its members to honoring human rights, principles of democracy and the applicable laws of Germany and the European Union. Kavian e.V. does not strive to gain financial profit. Any income (e.g. through donations) must be spent on the works related to the objectives of Kavian, as described by the statutes. The association may hire individuals to carry out the work but may not reimburse them extraordinarily, as described by the statutes. 

Internal Structure

As an association, Kavian e.V. aims to have a democratic system for decision making. The main bodies of Kavian will be

• The general assembly, which consists of all active members,
  
  

• The board of directors, which is consists of 2 to 5 persons voted by the general assembly to oversee the affairs of the association – the board of directors shall work neutrally and not pursue the wishes of individual members

Other organs may be developed in time due to necessity or efficiency. The board of directors will carry out the necessary work required to achieve the objectives of Kavian. The general assembly shall meet at least once per year to vote on the members of the board.

Finances

Kavian may obtain financial support and help from any person or organization (including government) that does not actively oppose the core values of Kavian. Accepting financial help does not entail any political, financial or social influence into the work of Kavian, its members and the umbrella organization to be erected in future. In controversial cases, some members of the board of directors may demand a vote by the general assembly.

The main financial support is envisaged to originate from international foundations that spend money to strengthen human rights and democracy world wide, but also democratic governments. No financial help shall be accepted from organizations working on behalf of the governments of Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon and Israel.

Principle 3 – Political, Economic & Social Philosophy

Kavian is an association with the objective of developing an umbrella organization. It is imperative that Kavian and other member associations of the umbrella organization strive for neutrality. By neutrality, it is meant that the umbrella organization shall not pursue the wishes of individual members associations, but rather follow the objectives as described by its statutes and voted for by its general assembly. In this sense, the political, economic and social philosophy of Kavian shall remain quite basic to allow for dynamic change and adjustment, if necessary, but also to ensure neutrality.

The basic political philosophy of Kavian can be summarized by the values described in the corresponding document. The political objective of Kavian is that Iranians living in Europe need to have a legitimate representative. The parliamentary system shall become the political institution that will obtain such legitimacy. In order to obtain the approval and the trust of Iranians in Europe, the umbrella organization must

• ensure not only its own financial transparency, but also that of the umbrella organization. This means that associations that enter into the umbrella organization must lay bare their financial sources and the programs they spend on,

• develop a clear organizational structure for the administrative body of the umbrella organization so that it is always clear who has made decisions and based upon which basis,

• communicate its objectives, intentions, ideologies and relations clearly.

The basic social philosophy of Kavian can be summarized by honoring human rights and aiming for the minimizing discrimination and maximizing justice within the umbrella organization and later within the bodies of the parliament.

Kavian has no economic objectives. Financially, it strives to obtain the resources necessary to run the operations smoothly. All the resources accumulated beyond these means shall be spent on humanitarian causes and supporting the Iranians actively fighting for freedom.

It must be stated clearly, that these general ideals do not limit the current or future members, nor the associations that later join the umbrella organization. These persons and groups can freely follow their own political, social or economic agenda outside of the scope of Kavian and the umbrella organization. For their work within the umbrella organization, they are bound by the minimum shared values described in the statutes of the umbrella organization and later those of the PiE. Dishonoring the core values of Kavian, the umbrella organization or the parliament may result in expulsion of persons or groups.

Scope 4 – Envisioned Changes in Iran

As a politically neutral body of administration, the umbrella organization does not have any plans of influencing the internal affairs of Iran or any other country. This also applies to Kavian as an association operating in Germany. The sole purpose of Kavian is to establish the infrastructure for a parliamentary system for the Iranian diaspora in Europe. What the representatives in the parliament would later decide, is their own responsibility. The umbrella organization will only be the platform for debate and exchange among the Iranian diaspora in Europe. In this sense, there is no direct change to be achieved. However, as Iranians active in politics, we can generally describe the main reasons for the current low quality of life in Iran. In order for citizens of Iran to have a better life, these issues must be addressed:

• The extremely high inflation rate, which is mainly due to bad economic policies and high levels of corruption (government failure), lack of freedom in goods and financial markets (market failure) and outdated economic laws, which are often not even observed properly (institutional mismatch).
  
  

• High rate of unemployment, especially among the youth and most acutely among young women. This is the result of lack of economic development, lack of investment in industries, lack of privatization, lack of freedoms in capital markets and low supply of professional education for skilled workers.
  
  

• High levels of corruption among government officials. This is due to lack of political and press freedom, which means no institution exists to check and balance the actions of the politicians, most importantly, their decisions on allocating resources.
  
  

• The housing crisis, which is the result of decades of mismanagement, corruption and low quality of education for laborers.
  
  

• Lack of access to sufficient drinkable water, which is the result of decades of mismanagement and catastrophic exploitation of Iran’s natural resources, especially sweet water sources, traditional agriculture, inefficient industrial usage of water, no proper waste management and management of water cycles. The lack of drinkable water has caused large-scale migration inside Iran, which has in turn resulted in social conflicts.
  
  

• Discrimination against women, different ethnic groups, many social groups and minorities. This is due to lack of social development in Iran.
  
  

• Aggressive foreign policy based on diseased ideologies that have caused severe international sanctions and heightened possibility of military conflicts with the West.

It is hence the hope of Kavian that the parliamentary platform that will be developed, shall serve Iran and Iranians by addressing these and other issues and finding appropriate and realistic solutions for providing Iranians with justice through development.

Principle 5 – Sharing Political Power

Kavian is an association that does not have any plans for obtaining political power among the Iranian diaspora. Nonetheless, as one of the organizations planning to establish the parliamentary system, it will have some influence with regards to bureaucratic decisions that will be made. Some of these decisions could have political implications for the member associations of the umbrella organization and the political lists that will want to be voted into the parliament.

In order to always have a clear and transparent approach, the associations that build up the umbrella organization will draw up and sign a memorandum of agreement, which will entail their responsibilities and the resources they will have to provide, but also the benefits that they may reap from umbrella organization organization.

• It will be made explicitly clear that cooperating in the umbrella organization and working on developing the infrastructure of the parliament will have no influence on the chances of any member association or any of the natural persons that are members of these associations in being voted into the parliament.
  
  

• In order to avoid conflicts of interest, those who have positions in the umbrella organization are not allowed to join political lists that stand for election in the parliament.
  
  

• No association or person working for the umbrella organization may interfere with the election beyond the scope of the statutes of the umbrella organization.
  
  

• No association or person working for the umbrella organization may receive any financial or material benefit in return for favors or facilitation with regards to the elections of the parliament. Any credible sign of such conduct will result in immediate expulsion and barring of both sides of the affair.
  
  

• No association or person working for the umbrella organization may publicly state a support in favor of or dissent against any political list.

The treasury of the umbrella organization must work with full transparency. All associations and persons working for the umbrella organization may ask to see the financial transactions of the organization and the results of the financial audits by third party establishments.

The methods of decision making in the umbrella organization may not change significantly, even if the umbrella organization succeeds in establishing a parliamentary infrastructure. The democratic principles in choosing a council by the general assembly must remain intact.

Associations that contribute more to the umbrella organization, may not expect a proportionately higher reward. Voting on decisions of the umbrella organization can be weighted depending on the number of members an association has, but this is to be decided by the general assembly. In return, the association must also pay a larger membership fee and put in more unpaid work hours.