Syrian interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa issued a decree on 16 January granting Kurds formal recognition within Syria. The move comes amid Damascus’ efforts to rein in the PKK-linked YPG Kurdish militia controlling the country’s northeast and appears aimed at creating divisions within Kurdish ranks and addressing international concerns over Damascus’ willingness to adopt a more inclusive approach.
The decree formally recognises Kurdish identity as part of Syria’s national fabric and Kurdish as a “national language,” allowing it to be taught across the country. It also recognises the Iranian-Kurdish Newros celebration as a public holiday in Syria.
The decree further restores citizenship to all Kurdish Syrians, an issue dating back to a 1962 census which concluded that large numbers of Kurds in al-Hasakah province had illegally entered Syria from Turkey in previous decades and falsely registered as Syrian citizens, after which the state revoked their citizenship.
The surprising announcement has received mixed reactions. While many Kurds in Syria celebrated the decree, others cautioned that the recognition must be enshrined in the constitution before it can be trusted to translate into reality on the ground.
Assyrian reactions
The Assyrian Democratic Organization (ADO), the leading Assyrian political group in the country, welcomed the decree but also highlighted the exclusion of Assyrians and others from formal recognition, stating: “While we value the issuance of this decree and congratulate the Kurdish people in Syria on attaining these rights, we believe that the decree, in its current form, remains incomplete. It does not comprehensively address the issue of national diversity in Syria, but rather reduces it to the Arab and Kurdish components, thereby ignoring the other indigenous national components, foremost among them the Assyrians.”
The statement went on to stress that Assyrian parties seek formal recognition of Assyrian identity and language as well.
Assyrian journalist Suleiman Youssef from Qamishli commented on the decree: “A good step by the Syrian president Ahmad al-Sharaa toward granting cultural and linguistic rights to Syrian Kurds… but what about the legitimate national rights of the Assyrians, who are the authentic indigenous component of Syria, from whom Syria took its name and its first and original national identity, and whose language is the original national mother language of historical Syria?”
Transitional constitutional declaration
Syria is currently ruled under a newly approved constitutional declaration, intended to govern the country’s transitional phase.
The declaration, endorsed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa on March 13, 2025, grants the president sweeping authority, including over judicial and legislative appointments, without checks or oversight. These powers raise serious concerns about the durability of the rule of law and human rights protections unless clear safeguards are introduced. The declaration justifies these extraordinary powers as necessary for the transitional period.
Al-Sharaa was declared president in late January 2025 following a conference of armed groups. He is set to lead the country for a five-year transitional period, as stipulated in Article 52 of the constitutional declaration, until a permanent constitution is adopted and elections are held.
