Syrian Kurds seek constitutional recognition after rights decree Submitted by Wladimir van Wilgenburg on Sat, 01/17/2026 - 11:57 Kurdish leaders say symbolic steps are not a lasting solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria A family flees from the vicinity of the Humaymah village, east of Aleppo city, as civilians fled a Kurdish-held region of northern Syria on 16 January 2026 (AFP) Off Syrian Kurdish political parties cautiously welcomed the decree recognising Kurdish cultural rights, but warned it falls short of what they want: full constitutional recognition and legal guarantees, along with a form of autonomy in northern Syria. Late on Friday, Syrian Interim President Ahmad al‑Sharaa issued a decree recognising Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights, including designating Newroz, the Kurdish new year, as a national holiday. The decree also restored citizenship to Kurds, about 20 percent of whom had lost their nationality following a controversial 1962 census . The move marks the first official acknowledgement of Kurdish national rights since Syria gained independence in 1946. "Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin: beware of believing claims that we seek harm against our Kurdish brothers," Sharaa said in a televised address. The declaration prompted celebrations among Kurds in Damascus and government-controlled Afrin, but drew little response in areas under Kurdish control. "The issuance of any decree, regardless of its intentions, cannot constitute a genuine guarantee of the rights of Syria's communities unless it is part of a comprehensive constitutional framework that recognises and safeguards the rights of everyone without exception," the Kurdish-led Democratic Self-Administration of the Autonomous Region of North and East Syria (DAANES) said in a statement on Saturday. DAANES also called for an "inclusive national dialogue and a decentralised democratic constitution". Salih Muslim, a senior Kurdish political figure in the Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Middle East Eye that the decree was not enough, adding that Kurds are looking for their "constitutional rights". "What they [Damascus] are saying are individual promises. They say 'you must abandon your weapons, and then they will give you some rights, like studying in your own language'. That is not enough, unless it is documented and written into the country's constitution," Muslim said. 'Foundation for dialogue' Shalal Gado, a member of the leadership of the Kurdish National Council, a rival of the PYD, welcomed the decree as "a positive and important step toward recognising the national and cultural rights of the country". "This decree... could serve as the foundation for a new dialogue," he said. What is Turkey's vision for the Kurds in Syria? Read More » At the same time, Gado voiced reservations, emphasising that "the provisions outlined in the decree must become constitutional rights and receive legal guarantees in the future". "Without this step, symbolic recognition cannot provide a lasting solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria." Laws stemming from the 1962 census stripped about 120,000 Kurds of their Syrian citizenship. As part of the Arab Belt project implemented in 1963, some 140,000 Kurds were displaced from the border region and replaced by Arabs. According to the census, there were two categories of stateless Kurds: ajanib ["foreigners"], who couldn't prove their residency in Syria, and those who had no identification cards and were branded as maktoumeen [unregistered]. Kurds number about two million of the country's 20 million people, with roughly 1.2 million living in the northeast. At the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011, President Bashar al-Assad's government granted citizenship to thousands of Kurds who were previously considered foreigners. However, unregistered Kurds remain without nationality, making it difficult for them to work, study or even marry. "This issue can't be solved in such a simple way," said Abdulrahman Dawud, a 36-year-old Kurdish victim of this policy. "It is not just a matter of recognising Syrian citizenship." "Any solution should be enshrined in the constitution, not issued through an unreliable decree, and should include compensation for all these years." Dawud also criticised the decree for failing to address stateless Syrian Kurds living abroad considered ajanib. 'Not a solution to the Kurdish issue' The decree comes amid international efforts to halt clashes in northern Syria between Kurdish forces and the Syrian army, and to resume negotiations on implementing a March agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus. Violent clashes erupted in Aleppo earlier this month, resulting in dozens of deaths and nearly 120,000 people displaced . Under international pressure, Kurdish fighters withdrew from the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh. Sheikh Maqsoud: The Kurdish enclave in Syria's Aleppo Read More » On Friday, following calls from international mediators to withdraw from eastern Aleppo and halt the fighting, the SDF announced it would pull its forces back the next morning to the east of the Euphrates, where clashes had been ongoing for the previous two days. However, the SDF reported on Saturday that several of its fighters were killed when government forces attacked east of Aleppo, accusing Damascus of violating the withdrawal agreement. The SDF said the deal required a ceasefire and a 48-hour withdrawal from Deir Hafer and Maskana, but the government launched attacks before their forces had fully pulled out. Meghan Bodette, director of research at the Kurdish Peace Institute, said Sharaa's decree is a partial step towards fulfilling Damascus's obligations under the March agreement to integrate the Kurds' de facto autonomous administration and forces into the state. "If intended as a goodwill gesture to stop fighting in east Aleppo and return to the security integration framework both sides had agreed on before the new year, it could be positive," Bodette said. "That said, its revocable nature and shortcomings on critical issues like language rights mean it is not a solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria in and of itself." 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