The Syriac-Assyrian parties in Syria, the Syriac Union Party, the Assyrian Democratic Organization, and the Suraya Democratic Party, have received with interest and appreciation the issuance of Decree No. 13 of 2026 by the President of the Syrian Transitional Phase, Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa, concerning the recognition of the cultural and civil rights of Kurdish Syrian citizens. This step is considered a long-awaited positive development in the process of constitutional recognition of the national and cultural rights of Syria’s components.
While we welcome this decree and congratulate the Kurdish people in Syria on obtaining these rights, which would not have been achieved without the accumulated struggle of the Kurdish people and their political movement, we believe that the decree, in its current form, remains incomplete. It does not comprehensively address Syria’s national diversity, instead limiting it to the Arab and Kurdish components, while overlooking the other indigenous national components, foremost among them the Syriac-Assyrians.
The Syriac-Assyrians constitute one of Syria’s deep historical roots and have played a pivotal role in shaping Syria’s civilizational and cultural identity. The Syriac-Assyrians gave Syria its name, and their language was the language of Syria for many centuries; its influence remains evident in the names of numerous regions and in local dialects. Their scholars, physicians, thinkers, and cultural, literary, and administrative cadres made fundamental contributions that formed essential pillars of Syrian civilization throughout history. In addition, through their political and civil movements, the Syriac-Assyrians have made great sacrifices and carried out significant struggles to liberate Syria from tyranny, and they were an active part of the Syrian revolution since its outbreak in March 2011.
We, the parties and organizations signing this statement, while reiterating our welcome of Decree No. 13, and in accordance with Article One thereof, which affirms that Syrian national identity is “diverse and unified,” and in line with Article Seven of the Constitutional Declaration, which guarantees the linguistic and cultural rights of Syria’s components, as well as in accordance with international conventions on human rights and the rights of components and indigenous peoples, call for the completion of this decree through the recognition of the national and cultural rights of the Syriac-Assyrians, as a prelude to enshrining and safeguarding them constitutionally.
These rights include the following:
• Constitutional recognition of the existence and national identity of the Syriac-Assyrians as an indigenous component of Syria, and the guarantee of their full national rights (political, cultural, and administrative) within the framework of Syria’s unity of land and people, on the basis that Syria is a state of multiple nationalities, religions, and cultures.
• Recognition of the Syriac language as a national language and guaranteeing the right to learn and be educated in it.
• Adoption of the Assyrian-Babylonian New Year (Akitu), on the first of April, as a national holiday.
• Support and encouragement of Syriac literature and arts by permitting the issuance of specialized newspapers and magazines, establishing associations concerned with them, and allocating programs and broadcast hours in national visual and audio media dedicated to the Syriac language and culture.
• Ensuring fair representation of Syriac-Assyrians in state institutions, government administrations, and representative bodies at both the national and local levels.
Building a new Syria, breaking with the era of tyranny, and restoring harmony between the state and its diverse and pluralistic reality cannot be achieved without recognizing the full spectrum of Syrian society. This recognition strengthens the country’s unity and lays the foundation for equal citizenship based on justice and non-discrimination among citizens, both as individuals and as groups.
Syriac Union Party
Suraya Democratic Party
Assyrian Democratic Organization
