With the Syrian government having recently taken over the predominantly Kurdish neighbourhoods of Shaykh Maqsud and Ashrafiya in Aleppo city, and amid the impending withdrawal of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Dayr Hafir and Maskanah in Aleppo province, there are understandably questions about the current status of the negotiations between the central government and the SDF for implementing the March 2025 agreement that stipulated the SDF’s integration into the Syrian state.
The negotiations, as I have noted before, are at an impasse because they have not yet bridged the divide between Damascus’ centralised vision of governance and the SDF’s desire for the government to grant its project autonomy. During the negotiations, the central government reportedly made ‘offers’ for recognition of Kurdish cultural and linguistic rights- something that had been a concern for the SDF leaders. It would now seem that President Ahmad al-Sharaa has decided to issue a decree implementing these offers anyway.
The negotiations are at an impasse because they have not yet bridged the divide between Damascus’ centralised vision of governance and the SDF’s desire for the government to grant its project autonomy.
A closer inspection of the decree, however, shows that some of the stipulations are hardly magnanimous and should have been expected anyway on the basis of the interim constitution. In particular, the stipulation of Kurds as citizens with equal rights before the law (which is the bare minimum that should be expected anyway and should not be treated as something to be ‘conceded’ in negotiations) should already have been guaranteed by article 10 of the interim constitution, while guaranteeing cultural and linguistic rights for all Syrian citizens is stipulated by section 3 of article 7.
The decree also leaves some more specific, practical questions unaddressed. Most notably, what does the designation of Kurdish as a ‘national’ language mean here? Does it mean that Kurdish will become an official language, with government ID documents like passports issued bilingually in Arabic and Kurdish? If so, there will have to be an amendment Article 4 of the interim constitution, which stipulates Arabic as the sole official language. And does the permission to teach Kurdish in schools in areas where Kurds constitute a significant proportion mean that Kurdish would become the main language of instruction or just taught as a foreign language as already is happening in schools in Afrin?
In short, there are some ostensible gestures of inclusiveness towards Kurds, but the decree should also be understood as a pressure tool on the SDF to come to terms as the government desires: that is, accepting the centralised vision of governance that is itself centred around the leadership of Ahmad al-Sharaa.
Below is the decree with full translation.
Syrian Arab Republic
Decree 13 for the year 2026
The president of the republic, in accordance with the rulings of the constitutional declaration, the requirements of the supreme national interest, and the state’s role and responsibility in strengthening national unity and establishing the cultural and civil rights of all Syrian citizens, decrees the following:
1. Kurdish Syrian citizens are considered a foundational and authentic part of the Syrian people, and their cultural and linguistic identity is considered an indivisible part of the pluralistic and unified Syrian national identity.
2. The state commits to protect cultural and linguistic diversity, and guarantees Kurdish citizens’ rights to revive their heritage and arts and develop their mother tongue in the framework of national sovereignty.
3. Kurdish is considered a national language, and permission is granted for it to be taught in government and private schools in areas where Kurds constitute a significant portion of the inhabitants, as a part of experimental curricula or as an educational cultural activity.
4. Implementation of all exceptional laws and measures that were the result of the 1962 census in Hasakah province is cancelled, and Syrian nationality is granted to all citizens of Kurdish origin living on Syrian territory, including those not on the state registers, with their complete equality in rights and obligations.
5. The Newroz holiday (21 March) is considered a paid public holiday in all the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, since it is a national holiday that represents spring and brotherhood.
6. The state’s media and educational institutions commit to adopting an inclusive national discourse, and all discrimination and marginalisation on an ethnic or lignuistic basis is prohibited, with all who engage in inciting ethnic strife to be punished on the basis of applicable laws.
7. The relevant ministries and authorities are to issue the necessary executive instructions to apply the rulings of this decree in every respect.
8. This decree is to be published in the official gazette, and is considered valid from the date of its issue.
Ahmad al-Sharaa
President of the Syrian Arab Republic.
Published originally on January 16, 2026.
