Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) welcomes the addition of the Kurdish language as an official publishing language of the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), seeing it as a positive first step toward recognizing cultural and linguistic diversity in Syria and promoting values of inclusion for a more just future for all Syrians.
Over the past decades, successive governments in Syria have implemented racist policies aimed at suppressing Kurdish identity by restricting the public use of the Kurdish language in schools and workplaces and by banning publications in Kurdish. Therefore, the Syrian transitional authorities must end this cycle of exclusion and work toward official recognition of Kurdish as a national Syrian language, in order to foster a culture of acknowledgment of diversity and build a homeland that embraces everyone.
The current authorities in Syria must take necessary steps to protect the cultural and linguistic identities of the Kurds and other communities, and create conditions that support these diverse language groups. They should ensure these communities have adequate opportunities to learn, practice, and use their native languages in all aspects of social and political life by reviewing the Constitutional Declaration and strengthening the linguistic rights of all Syrian communities. This must align with Syria’s commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities.
Finally, STJ calls for drafting a new constitution for the future Syria that rejects the language of marginalization, exclusion, and racial discrimination, which formed the backbone of previous Syrian constitutions. It also urges a comprehensive review of all Syrian laws, decrees, and circulars, the repeal of those that entrenched racial discrimination, and the enactment of new legislation aligned with a participatory approach to civic life, capable of ensuring full and effective equality for all Syrians without discrimination.