ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Syrian interior ministry on Wednesday issued an urgent decree granting citizenship to stateless Kurds in Rojava, ending more than 60 years of exclusion from government services for those without an official nationality as a conciliatory measure amid clashes between Damascus-affiliated factions and Kurdish-led forces.

“All exceptional laws and measures resulting from the 1962 census in Hasaka province are hereby repealed, and Syrian citizenship is granted to all citizens of Kurdish origin residing on Syrian territory, including those whose registration is incomplete, with their full equality in rights,” Anas Khattab, the interior minister, said on Wednesday in a statement. 

The decree instructed relevant ministries and authorities to “immediately prepare the necessary executive instructions for the implementation of this decree,” emphasizing that they should consider “the simplification of procedures for our Kurdish people as much as possible” and submit them within a week. 

A 1962 census in Hasaka province, ordered by a governor who called local Kurds “invaders,” stripped roughly 120,000 people, mostly Kurds, of their citizenship, creating a large stateless population. 

Those with limited documentation were labeled ajanib (foreigners), while those who failed or refused to participate were classified as maktoumeen (unregistered). 

The stateless population grew over decades, reaching more than 517,000 by 2011, according to the Personal Status Department and the NGO Syrians for Truth and Justice.

Although then-President Bashar al-Assad later called the census “inaccurate,” it was not until 2011, amid the Syrian uprising, that the decree allowed ajanib to apply for citizenship.

The issue of statelessness worldwide has seen extensive efforts by international agencies to see citizenship rights extended to affected individuals, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) noting that stateless persons "may be denied a right to education, to social services, to many areas of employment as they reach adulthood, or even to documents establishing their identity."

"In the Middle East, statelessness most frequently stems from the deprivation of nationality, often as a result of conflict over the composition of a state and its borders," HRW wrote in a report. "Government policies often promote the denial of citizenship among particular groups to further other political aims. Discriminatory government policies serve to exclude unwanted groups, or to attempt to force out a group perceived as unsupportive of the government while encouraging the naturalization of other groups perceived as more supportive."

Following clashes between Damascus-affiliated forces and Kurds in Rojava, the Syrian government is taking steps to recognize Kurdish communities. 

The offensive, aimed at advancing interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s vision of a centralized Syria, comes despite repeated calls from marginalized minorities for a federal system.

Earlier in January, Sharaa issued a decree aimed at providing linguistic and cultural rights for Kurds, designating Kurdish as a national language that can be taught as an “elective” course in the Kurdish-populated parts of Syria.

Following the decree, Syria’s education ministry on Monday announced the preparation of a Kurdish-language curriculum and its coverage in schools in Kurdish-majority areas that are set to, in implementation of a recent presidential decree.

The recent assault has left hundreds dead and forced Kurdish-led forces, who defeated the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, to cede swathes of territory and withdraw to Hasaka province, with the attacking Syrian forces violating ceasefires, committing human rights violations, and possibly war crimes in their offensive.  

Damascus-affiliated forces are accused of continuing attacks on Kurdish-held areas around Kobane and maintaining a siege on the city despite a recently announced ceasefire.