The Kurdish National Council in Syria (ENKS) has welcomed a landmark presidential decree from the Syrian transition government that formally recognizes Kurds as a fundamental component of the nation and annuls a decades-old discriminatory census, calling it a positive but preliminary move toward justice.

The decree, issued on January 16 by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the president of the Syrian National Coalition-led interim government, was described by ENKS in a Sunday statement as "the first explicit and official acknowledgment of Kurdish rights by the Syrian state."

Decree No. 13 recognizes the Kurdish people as "an indigenous and fundamental component of the Syrian people" and affirms their cultural and intellectual rights. A key provision is the abolition of the results of the 1962 "exceptional census" in Hasakah province, which stripped approximately 120,000 Kurds of their citizenship, rendering them and their descendants stateless for generations.

The council stated that reversing these measures "addressed a decades-old injustice" that had marginalized a large segment of the population. The decree also designates the Kurdish New Year, Nowruz, as an official national holiday—a move hailed by ENKS as an important symbolic recognition of Kurdish identity.

However, the welcome was tempered with caution. ENKS emphasized that the decree must be seen as "the beginning rather than the conclusion" of addressing what it termed a profound political and national issue. The council stressed that the principles outlined must be entrenched in Syria's future permanent constitution to provide lasting guarantees for Kurdish national rights and ensure genuine partnership in governance.

"The decree could serve as a foundation for launching serious and responsible dialogue," the statement read, calling for negotiations between the Syrian government and a unified Kurdish delegation. The goal, it said, should be a sustainable settlement securing Kurdish cultural, linguistic, and political rights within a "democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syrian state."

The appeal comes amid shifting dynamics in Syria's conflict. It follows renewed, though fragile, dialogue channels between Damascus and Kurdish political actors, and coincides with a ceasefire announced Sunday aimed at halting weeks of military escalation in northern Syria. Kurdish factions have long argued that without constitutional recognition and political inclusion, administrative measures alone cannot prevent renewed conflict.

In its statement, ENKS also called for full adherence to the new ceasefire and a complete cessation of hostilities. It urged all parties to use the moment to "deepen political dialogue" and rebuild national unity on the basis of "justice and equal rights for all components of Syrian society."