Syria
Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (right) signs constitutional declaration in Damascus on March 13, 2025. Photo: Syrian presidency
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A dozen Yazidi associations and unions on Saturday strongly rejected the contents of Syria’s newly-drafted constitutional declaration, which has come under criticism for sidelining Kurds and religious minorities.
“We, the undersigned representatives of Yazidi organizations, associations, and institutions working inside and outside Syria, express our strong condemnation of the contents of the Constitutional Declaration,” read a statement by the Yazidi groups.
They added that the provisions of the interim constitution “constitute a flagrant violation” of several international laws, including the international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The 53-article interim constitution, which centers on Islamic jurisprudence, stipulates that Syria’s president must be a Muslim and sets a five-year transitional period. It also retains the country's official name as the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Yazidis also accused successive Syrian governments in the past of “failing to adhere to the principles of international human rights law, as they did not recognize the legal existence of Yazidis as an independent religious minority, nor did they enact legislation or include constitutional articles guaranteeing their religious, cultural, and political rights.”
The Kurds, Druze, and Christians have also rejected the constitutional declaration - which has not received strong local or international support.
During a ceremony on Thursday to sign the document, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed hope that it would mark “a new chapter in Syria’s history, one where ignorance is replaced with knowledge and oppression with justice.”
The interim constitution grants Sharaa exclusive executive power, the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature, and the ability to appoint judges to the constitutional court, which is the body that can hold him accountable.
Yazidis bore the brunt of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) atrocities when the group attacked their hometown of Shingal (Sinjar) in Iraq’s Nineveh province in 2014. Thousands of Yazidis were held captive, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. A large number of them remain missing.
“We, the undersigned representatives of Yazidi organizations, associations, and institutions working inside and outside Syria, express our strong condemnation of the contents of the Constitutional Declaration,” read a statement by the Yazidi groups.
They added that the provisions of the interim constitution “constitute a flagrant violation” of several international laws, including the international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
The 53-article interim constitution, which centers on Islamic jurisprudence, stipulates that Syria’s president must be a Muslim and sets a five-year transitional period. It also retains the country's official name as the Syrian Arab Republic.
The Yazidis also accused successive Syrian governments in the past of “failing to adhere to the principles of international human rights law, as they did not recognize the legal existence of Yazidis as an independent religious minority, nor did they enact legislation or include constitutional articles guaranteeing their religious, cultural, and political rights.”
The Kurds, Druze, and Christians have also rejected the constitutional declaration - which has not received strong local or international support.
During a ceremony on Thursday to sign the document, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa expressed hope that it would mark “a new chapter in Syria’s history, one where ignorance is replaced with knowledge and oppression with justice.”
The interim constitution grants Sharaa exclusive executive power, the authority to appoint one-third of the legislature, and the ability to appoint judges to the constitutional court, which is the body that can hold him accountable.
Yazidis bore the brunt of the Islamic State’s (ISIS) atrocities when the group attacked their hometown of Shingal (Sinjar) in Iraq’s Nineveh province in 2014. Thousands of Yazidis were held captive, many of whom were subjected to sexual slavery and forced labor. A large number of them remain missing.
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