UN envoy says France backs Kurdish rights, dialogue in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – France will continue supporting efforts to strengthen cohesion among Syria’s different communities, with the integration of Kurds into the country’s emerging political and institutional framework needing to be addressed through dialogue and respect for citizens’ rights, France’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Jerome Bonnafont, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN, told Rudaw that national reconciliation remains at the center of the UN Security Council’s monthly discussions on Syria.
He said that the international community’s broader objective was to support the building of a new institutional framework in Syria that guarantees the rights of citizens from all communities.
Bonnafont made the remarks in response to a question about recent protests by Kurds in northeast Syria against a decision by Damascus to end Kurdish-medium education.
The Syrian Education Ministry decided in late August to make Kurdish a compulsory subject taught three times a week while ending full Kurdish-language instruction in schools in northeast Syria.
Kurdish had served as a primary language of instruction in schools in the region for around 14 years, following the withdrawal of former Syrian regim forces from much of the area in 2012.
Bonnafont described language as a crucial component of any community’s identity, stressing the importance of addressing relations between Syria’s various communities and the state through “discussion, dialogue, negotiation, and peaceful democratic channels.”
“It is within that context that we will examine the issue of the Kurds’ integration in Syria as it is being rebuilt,” the French diplomat added.
The issue of Kurdish language and cultural rights has become a central point in discussions surrounding the integration of northeast Syria’s military and civilian institutions into the new Syrian state.
The process began earlier this year and culminated last week in the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the start of its integration into Syrian state institutions.
Bonnafont pointed out that France hoped Syrian authorities would adopt a fundamentally different approach toward the country’s population than previous governments, arguing that greater inclusion and respect for communities’ rights could help promote stability and development.