Shafaq News- Al-Sulaymaniyah

A Kurdish political front based in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region accused the Syrian government on Sunday of failing to implement commitments on Kurdish-language education and cultural rights, warning that promises made under a recent agreement with Kurdish forces remain largely unfulfilled.

At a press conference in Al-Sulaymaniyah, the Front for the Support of Western Kurdistan said the status of the Kurdish language remains one of the clearest indicators of the gap between formal recognition and practical implementation across the region.

Front member Robar Ahmed said Damascus had officially recognized Kurdish as a national language earlier this year and permitted its teaching in schools, but had yet to establish mechanisms to enforce those measures. She said Syrian authorities still do not recognize academic certificates obtained through Kurdish-language education and are attempting to reduce Kurdish to an optional subject instead of maintaining it as a core language of instruction.

Ahmed linked the statement to International Mother Language Day, established by UNESCO in 1999 and adopted by the United Nations in 2000. She also noted that May 15 marks the anniversary of Hawar, the first Kurdish-language journal published in 1932, which many Kurds consider a symbol of cultural survival after decades of restrictions on the language.

The front compared the Syrian situation with Kurdish-language policies in neighboring countries.

In Iraq, Ahmed said Kurdish rights have been constitutionally recognized since 1970, but implementation remains inconsistent, pointing to the limited use of Kurdish inside Iraq’s parliament despite its official status.

In Iran, Kurdish-language education “continues to be prohibited in Kurdish-majority areas, while teachers and activists have faced arrests over efforts to promote Kurdish language and culture.”

The dispute comes amid a broader 14-point agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the government of Syrian transitional President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The accord aims to integrate Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian army, end armed conflict, and preserve the administrative character of Kurdish-controlled areas under international supervision. One clause specifically addresses cultural and educational rights for Kurds.

The Front for the Support of Western Kurdistan reiterated its backing for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and called on the United Nations, the United States, France, and UNESCO to monitor the implementation of the agreement and pressure Damascus to uphold its commitments regarding Kurdish language and cultural rights.