Federalism as solution for a peaceful, democratic and united Syria

From July 5 to July 8, the Geneva Office of the Kurdish National Council in Syria organised the workshop „Visions for a future Syria – Federalism and the Kurdish region“ in Geneva. The main purpose of the workshop was to support the KNC leadership, represented by Ibrahim Barro, Saoud Almalla, Faisal Youssef, Nimat Dawud, Mustafa Sino, Tahir Sifuk, Sulaiman Osso, and Siamend Hajo, to develop a detailed and clear position on federalism as well as a constitution for a future federal Region of Syrian Kurdistan.

Supported by Prof. Dr. Michael D. Burgess and Dr. Neophytos Loizides, both federalism experts from the University of Kent (Great Britain), the KNC leadership adopted a paper arguing why a decentralised, federal system with strong local structures is an essential corner stone for a just, democratic and united Syria (see the link below).

Moreover, the KNC prepared, together with Prof. Dr. Eva Maria Belser (Expert on Comparative Constitutional Law at the University Fribourg) and Dr. Soeren Keil (Political Scientist at the University of Canterbury) a constitutional draft for a future federal Region of Syrian Kurdistan. Soon the Legal Committee of the KNC will discuss it. Afterwards the draft will be submitted to the Congress of the KNC for approval.

Following the approval, the constitution will be the foundation for discussions and negotiations between the KNC and the Arab factions of the Syrian opposition as well as other Syrian-Kurdish groups. The KNC does not intend to unilaterally implement its constitution in Syria – but it wants to convince other political factions as well as the population of Syrian Kurdistan of its ideas. In order to do so the KNC, first of all, needs a political concept comprehensible to and supported by its own members. To start to develop such a concept has been the major task of the workshop.

Click here: KNC Federalism and Decentralisation (pdf file)

 

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