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NEW YORK - The United Nations on Monday called on Syria to develop an inclusive constitution that safeguards the rights of minorities, with Damascus facing backlash from minorities over the country’s recent constitutional declaration.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a 53-article constitutional declaration on Thursday. The declaration centers on Islamic jurisprudence, mandates that the country’s president must be Muslim, and sets a five-year transitional period. It also maintains Syria’s official name as the Syrian "Arab" Republic.
“This is a process that is going forward and we want to make sure that as the Constitution is developed, it is developed in an inclusive manner given into account the concerns of all the communities in Syria. Ultimately we want to see a Syrian society established that is one in which all the communities in Syria feel properly included,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson to the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw in New York.
The constitutional declaration, set for a five-year transitional period, additionally 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.
“The protection of minorities is an important facet of any functional society, and we have tried to underscore in our own talks with the transition authorities in Syria the need for inclusiveness,” Haq added.
Christina Markus Lassen, president of the UN Security Council and representative of Denmark to the UN, stressed the need to “include everyone in the transition process in Syria.”
“That is something that the Security Council is expected to set itself on very clearly,” she told Rudaw.
Following a swift offensive in December, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), headed by Sharaa, toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president and has pledged commitment to an inclusive political process.
However, in recent weeks, several efforts have been criticized as exclusionary by minority groups in Syria. Along with the Kurds, the constitutional declaration has faced backlash from the Druze, Christian, and Yazidi communities.
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a 53-article constitutional declaration on Thursday. The declaration centers on Islamic jurisprudence, mandates that the country’s president must be Muslim, and sets a five-year transitional period. It also maintains Syria’s official name as the Syrian "Arab" Republic.
“This is a process that is going forward and we want to make sure that as the Constitution is developed, it is developed in an inclusive manner given into account the concerns of all the communities in Syria. Ultimately we want to see a Syrian society established that is one in which all the communities in Syria feel properly included,” Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson to the UN Secretary-General, told Rudaw in New York.
The constitutional declaration, set for a five-year transitional period, additionally 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.
“The protection of minorities is an important facet of any functional society, and we have tried to underscore in our own talks with the transition authorities in Syria the need for inclusiveness,” Haq added.
Christina Markus Lassen, president of the UN Security Council and representative of Denmark to the UN, stressed the need to “include everyone in the transition process in Syria.”
“That is something that the Security Council is expected to set itself on very clearly,” she told Rudaw.
Following a swift offensive in December, a coalition of opposition groups led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), headed by Sharaa, toppled the regime of Bashar al-Assad. In late January, Sharaa was appointed Syria’s interim president and has pledged commitment to an inclusive political process.
However, in recent weeks, several efforts have been criticized as exclusionary by minority groups in Syria. Along with the Kurds, the constitutional declaration has faced backlash from the Druze, Christian, and Yazidi communities.
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