The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria commented on Saturday, 17 January 2026, on a decree issued by Syria’s transitional president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, regarding Kurdish rights in Syria.
It said the decree could be considered a first step, but that it does not meet the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people, who have made great sacrifices and waged a real revolution to obtain their legitimate rights and build a democratic state where everyone can live a free and dignified life based on justice and equality.
The Autonomous Administration added that rights are not safeguarded through temporary decrees, but are protected and entrenched through permanent constitutions that reflect the will of all peoples and components.
It also said that issuing a decree, regardless of its intentions, cannot provide a genuine guarantee for the rights of Syria’s components unless it is part of a comprehensive constitutional framework that recognizes and protects the rights of all, without exception.
The administration called for drafting a pluralistic, democratic constitution that protects, preserves, and upholds the rights of all Syrian components, communities, and beliefs, describing this diversity as a source of Syria’s strength and its true beauty.
Decree recognizes Kurdish rights
Transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued Decree No. 13 for 2026, which grants Syrian citizenship to all residents of Kurdish origin living on Syrian territory, including those registered as “unregistered” (maktoumei al-qayd).
The decree, issued on 16 January, also repealed all laws and exceptional measures resulting from the 1962 al-Hasakah census (northeastern Syria).
It declared a national holiday for Nowruz, celebrated by Kurds on 21 March, describing it as a day of fraternity and spring.
The decree stated that Syrian Kurdish citizens are an essential and integral part of the Syrian people, and that their cultural and linguistic identity is an inseparable part of Syria’s diverse and unified national identity.
According to the decree, the state commits to protecting cultural and linguistic diversity, and guarantees Kurdish citizens the right to revive their heritage and arts and to develop their mother tongue within the framework of national sovereignty.
It also considers Kurdish a national language, and allows its teaching in public and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a notable percentage of the population, either as part of optional curricula or as an educational cultural activity.
State media and educational institutions are required to adopt an inclusive national discourse. Any discrimination or exclusion on ethnic or linguistic grounds is legally prohibited, and anyone who incites ethnic strife will be punished under applicable laws.
Ahead of signing the decree, the Syrian president delivered a speech in which he opened by citing the Quranic verse, “We have made you peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of God is the most righteous.”
Al-Sharaa added, “No Arab, Kurd, Turk, or anyone else has superiority except through piety and the righteousness of a person, whatever their people may be.”
He continued, “Our Kurdish people, descendants of Saladin, beware of believing that we wish you harm. By God, whoever harms you is our adversary until the Day of Judgment. Your life is our life. We seek nothing but the welfare, unity of the country and its people, development and reconstruction, and that no one deprive another of their share of this good.”
Al-Sharaa urged “everyone who was forcibly displaced from their land to return safely and securely, without any condition except laying down arms,” and called on Kurds to “participate effectively in building this homeland, safeguarding its safety and unity, and to reject anything else.”
“The Autonomous Administration”: al-Sharaa’s decree is insufficient to protect Kurdish rights Enab Baladi.
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