Kurdish Rights Network and Civil Organizations Call for Advisory Team to Support Kurdish Delegation

ARK News.. group of Kurdish human rights organizations has issued a joint letter to the leadership of the Kurdish Joint Delegation, urging the formation of a multidisciplinary advisory team to support the delegation during upcoming negotiations. The goal is to ensure that the negotiation process adheres to international human rights standards, transitional justice principles, and relevant international law.

Below is the full text of the letter:

As an independent Kurdish human rights network and civil society organizations in Syria, committed to defending human rights, documenting violations against Syrians in general and the Kurdish people in particular, and promoting a culture of democracy, we address this letter to you at a critical political juncture requiring strong legal and academic support for the Kurdish–Syrian dialogue process.

Any negotiation that concerns the future of a people who have endured decades of systematic discrimination and marginalization must be grounded in a multidimensional vision—one that centers human rights, international law, and the historical and cultural context, while ensuring genuine community participation.

The signatories call for the urgent establishment of a multidisciplinary advisory body to accompany the joint Kurdish delegation and provide expert analysis and recommendations, aiming to enhance the quality of negotiations and anchor them in international legal legitimacy. This proposed advisory team would include:

Tasked with reviewing negotiation proposals for compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, transitional justice principles, non-repetition mechanisms, and all relevant international legal frameworks.

Responsible for reinforcing the authentic Kurdish narrative as part of Syria’s national identity and for documenting discriminatory state policies targeting the Kurd.

Charged with analyzing comparative global models of autonomy, decentralization, and constitutional recognition, and proposing realistic, implementable frameworks that enshrine Kurdish national rights.

To connect with civil society actors, unions, cultural institutions, women's and youth organizations, ensuring that grassroots voices shape the priorities of the negotiation process.

The purpose of this team is not only to provide technical assistance but to prevent the negotiations from being reduced to elite-level power deals or temporary arrangements. It seeks to transform them into a rights-based political process with guarantees that cannot be reversed in future constitutional settlements.

The proposal is rooted in:

International peace-building experiences (e.g., South Africa, Kosovo, Nepal) which demonstrate that the involvement of rights-based advisory bodies enhances the legitimacy and sustainability of peace processes.

The legitimate historical and political rights of the Kurdish people in Syria, which require a fair political settlement and constitutional recognition.

Principles of justice and transitional justice, including acknowledgment of past violations, reparations, and decentralization as a path toward inclusive reform.

The Kurdish question in Syria is not a niche issue but a matter of fundamental rights—including language, identity, equal citizenship, protection from discrimination, meaningful political participation, and constitutional guarantees against exclusion.

Therefore, the Kurdish Human Rights Network and the co-signing organizations hereby declare their readiness to help form this advisory body, contribute to building an independent professional team, and offer legal and academic consultation based on transparency, neutrality, and pluralism.

They also extend an invitation to all Kurdish, Syrian, and international human rights and academic organizations willing to contribute to this critical national process, which they view as a pivotal moment in the Kurdish people’s struggle for recognition and justice in Syria.

Qamishlo – Syria
Signatories:

- Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria

- Kurdish Organization for the Defense of Human Rights in Syria (DAD)

-Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF

-Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria – Rased

Defense Organization for Prisoners of Conscience in Syria – Rawanga

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