New Social COntract for Northern & eastern Syria

The Northern and Eastern Syria region has approved an updated the “Social Contract” serving as a constitution for the region, which was first approved in 2014. It is put into effect without a public referendum.
The contract establishes a democratic, environmental and socially-progressive political system with a focus on women’s rights and freedom.

Since 2021, a committee made up of representatives of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), as well as women’s and youth organizations and civil society, has been working on a new version of the social contract.
The aim of the social contract is to define the framework for decentralized self-administration. Particular attention is being paid to the separation of powers and the protection of human rights.Due to Turkey’s attacks on northern and eastern Syria and the worsening economic crisis, the necessary talks on the treaty with the various population groups and organizations have had to be repeatedly postponed.
At its 90th meeting in Raqqa on Tuesday, the Council of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria approved the social contract. This was presented by the responsible committee last week.
The social contract will come into force as soon as it has been published with its 134 articles.

The “Social Contract” guarantees rights for Kurdish, Syriac and Assyrian peoples while rejecting forced demographic changes. The economy is based on communal ownership of resources and self-sufficiency. Basic services like healthcare and education are protected from privatization.

The contract also affirms rights to self-defense and cultural preservation while adhering to rule of law, independence of the judiciary, and liberation of occupied territories. Below you find extracts from the General principles of the contract:

• Article 1: This charter is the social contract for the democratic self-administration of the northern and eastern Syrian region, and the preamble is the core of this contract and an integral part of it.
• Article 2: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria adopts the system of being democratic, environmental, societal, and promoting women’s freedom.
• Article 3: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria develops and consolidates the moral-political society, adopting the principles of democratic modernity in the face of capitalist modernity.
• Article 4: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria derives its legitimacy from the will of the peoples and groups on the basis of free and equal participation, and through democratic elections.
• Article 5: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria is part of the Syrian Democratic Republic.
• Article 6: All languages in the geography of northern and eastern Syria are equal in all areas of social, educational, and cultural life. Every people or cultural group has the right to organize its life and conduct its affairs in its mother tongue.
• Article 7: The official languages in the areas of the Democratic Autonomous Administration are Arabic, Kurdish, and Syriac.
• Article 8: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has a special status and flag raised alongside the flag of the Syrian Democratic Republic. It has a logo and this is regulated by law.
• Article 9: The Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria adopts the principle of independence of the judiciary.
• Article 10: Oath: I swear by God Almighty, and I pledge to the martyrs: to abide by the social contract and its articles, to preserve the democratic rights of the peoples and the values of the martyrs, to preserve the freedom, safety and security of the regions of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and the Democratic Republic of Syria, and to work for the life of a Free society and achieving social justice, in accordance with the principle of the democratic nation.
• Article 11: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria consists of provinces based on the concept of local democracy based on the democratic system that takes the confederal democratic organizations of social groups and segments as its basis.
• Article 12: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria depends on an organized, democratic society and the free individual, and takes the local organizations of peoples, groups and components as its basis in accordance with the principle of direct democracy.
• Article 13: Decisions that directly affect components shall adopt the principle of compatibility as a basis.
• Article 14: Adopting environmental and societal democratic life as a basis, working to build an environmentally democratic society, and preventing unjust treatment, plundering and destruction of nature.
• Article 15: Consolidating the values of coexistence in accordance with the principles of a democratic nation filled with a spirit of brotherhood among all peoples and groups in northern and eastern Syria within a free and just democratic societal system.
• Article 16: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria guarantees the political, economic and cultural rights of the Kurdish people and preserves the historical characteristics and authentic demographic structures of the Kurdish regions.
• Article 17: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria guarantees the political, cultural and economic rights of the Syriac and Assyrian people, preserves their values and historical existence, and rejects any demographic change in their regions based on fair representation and the principle of interoperability.
• Article 18: Democratic self-administration adopts the principle of community economics, which establishes self-sufficiency and sustainable and balanced development.
• Article 19: The Democratic Self-Administration shall develop the societal economy for women and oppose all types of commodification and exploitation of women.
• Article 20: Natural wealth and resources belong to society. They are used and invested in accordance with the needs of the provinces and in a fair manner. It is regulated by law.
• Article 21: Developing health insurance for all of society, and public health services shall be free.
• Article 22: Preventing monopoly in the fields of education and health.
• Article 23: Martyrdom is a sacred value, and the Autonomous Administration guarantees care and a decent life to the families of the martyrs, the wounded, and prisoners of war.
• Article 24: The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria adopts the system of joint presidency in all political, social, administrative and other fields and considers it a basic principle in equal representation between the sexes, and contributes to the organization and consecration of the democratic confederal system for women as their own entity.
• Article 25: Guaranteeing women’s freedom and rights in society and gender equality.
• Article 26: Women enjoy their free will in the democratic family that is established on the basis of a shared equal life.
• Article 27: Preserving environmental life and the ecosystem is a duty for the citizen, society, and all organizations and institutions.
• Article 28: Youth is the effective and pioneering force in society. It organizes itself in particular in all social activities, and participates of its own free will and organized force in all areas of life.
• Article 29: Fair representation of all components in the institutions of democratic self-administration according to the demographics of the provinces.
• Article 30: Self-defense against any external or internal danger is a legitimate right, and it is a duty for individuals and groups living under democratic self-administration to defend themselves and preserve their dignity in the event that they are exposed to attack.
• Article 31: The citizen in the Democratic Self-Administration is a free individual, endowed with moral and democratic values, and has the right to participate in more than one commune.
• Article 32: The historical monuments and monuments and the cultural heritage of the peoples of northern and eastern Syria are a national heritage that is obligatory for all individuals and society to preserve.
• Article 33: There is no crime and no punishment except by a legal provision.
• Article 34: The accused is innocent until proven guilty by a final judgment.
• Article 35: No tax or fee except by law.
• Article 36: The Democratic Autonomous Administration in northern and eastern Syria is committed to liberating the occupied territories and returning their people to their areas.