Members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces are seen after rebels seized the capital and ousted Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Hasakah on December 11, 2024. [Orhan Qereman/Reuters]
The fall of Bashar al-Assad from power in Syria may have brought a wind of optimism to citizens of the troubled Arab country and the millions who have been displaced. However, after the celebrations comes scrutiny. How will former Al-Qaeda members handle power? And, most importantly, what will be the fate of human rights in a country made up of so many ethnicities?
The first signs from the provisional government are not encouraging. Recently, Tom Fletcher, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator at the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), noted while briefing the Security Council that women and girls are at risk of marginalization, while the UN special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, in the same session, emphasized that important state decisions and long-term policies raise concerns about lack of transparency and participation.
Already we have reports of increased incidents of violence against Christians and other minorities. The Christian population of the town of Maaloula, where Byzantine churches of incalculable cultural and religious value have been preserved for centuries, is particularly at risk.
At the same time, news of battles in the autonomous Kurdish regions of northeastern Syria is multiplying, where Turkey, wearing the mantle of the peacemaker, is attempting to “clear up” the “Kurdish issue,” using the Syrian National Army (SNA) and overtly its air force. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently arrested two Kurdish co-mayors of the city of Akdeniz – perhaps in preparation for his overall attack on all things Kurdish.
But what will the Turks and their allies in Syria achieve if they manage to defeat the mainly Kurdish militant YPG group, and what will the international community have lost? Turkey will have managed to expand its self-imposed role as a “protector state” throughout northern Syria. From the point of view of the international community, Syria will have lost a serious defender of human rights.
The important role of the Kurdish population in protecting human rights can be seen in the constitution (Charter of the Social Contract) drafted by the Kurds in January 2014, when they declared the regions of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani autonomous.
The preamble defends the right of the eight ethnic groups to live peacefully in the autonomous regions, and to enjoy equal rights and obligations. The Kurdish constitution directly incorporates international treaties, conventions, and declarations concerning the protection of human rights, while special mention is made of women. Article 27 in particular states that “women have the inviolable right to participate in political, social, economic and political life.” The articles that follow clarify equality between the two sexes before the law, and explicitly prohibit the marriage of children, something allowed in countries where Sharia law prevails.
Many other points of the constitution emphasize citizens’ right to freedom of religious practice and stress that no one should be persecuted based on their religious beliefs. If the transitional government in Damascus truly desires peaceful coexistence between Syrian citizens regardless of origin and religion, it would do well to use this constitution as its template.
The text of the Kurdish constitution is not only a source of freedom and justice for the people of the autonomous regions but also an argument against those who wage war against the Kurds, based on false allegations that the Kurds wish to create an independent state and dismember Syria. The Kurdish constitution states explicitly that the regions of Afrin, Jazira and Kobani are integral parts of Syria. Moreover, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) leader, Mazloum Abdi, made it clear that he rejects any dismemberment plan that would threaten Syria’s unity.
Ankara and those controlled by it do not want such a forward-looking constitution. It ruins their plans for ISIS-inspired control of anything that moves. They prefer an Islamic state with Sharia law instead of a real constitution. Women are only to produce, like animals. It is time for the international community, besides humanitarian aid, to push for a democratic transition without exclusions and without interventions from regional powers.
Let’s not forget that the autonomous region of Kobani and the sacrifice of 12,000 Kurds halted the ISIS advance. To leave them to the will of Ankara on the one hand and Islamic law on the other is yet one more betrayal of a population that has fought hard for values which respect all humans, regardless of ethnicity, religion or gender.
Nikos Papandreou is a Greek politician, economist, businessman and author. He is an elected member of the European Parliament with PASOK.