Syria’s Constitutional Declaration contains several contentious clauses, with one of the most debated being the restriction of weapons to the state. How can this provision effectively consolidate the widespread arms across Syria and bring them under the authority of the new government?
General Khaled Hamidi, Director of the Regional Forum of Consulting and Studies, told +963 that the Constitutional Declaration addressed this issue in multiple articles. Article 9 discussed the military and security institutions, explicitly stating that weapons must be confined by the state. Article 1 defines the army as a professional national institution responsible for protecting the country.
Article 32 establishes the President of the Republic as the Supreme Commander of the Army and Armed Forces, reinforcing the executive’s role in building a professional and unified army. Additionally, Article 42, assigns the formation of the military to the executive branch, headed by the president.
Hamidi emphasized that practical steps are required for integrating various factions into the military and security institutions, ensuring that Syrian citizens are incorporated based on principles of equality and equal opportunity.
However, military expert Jalal al-Abadi warns of significant challenges in implementing these provisions, citing the presence of numerous armed factions operating outside the official military and security structure of the Transitional Administration.
Speaking to +963, he noted both the internal and external obstacles facing the Interim Government Saying, “The process of transferring all arms to state control may take a long time and will require cooperation between the new authorities and the rest of the local parties”.
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Although the Ministry of Defence of the Syrian Provisional Government has announced initial steps towards merging armed factions in northern Syria and Daraa, including an agreement between Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the President of the Interim Government Ahmed al-Sharaa, to integrate the SDF into the structure of the Ministry of Defence, these measures remain incomplete and have not yet to be fully implemented.
Military and strategic expert Mohammed Abbas Mohammed, Speaking to +963, highlighted the risks of prolonged weapon proliferation outside the state control. He stressed that the success of the new administration in building unified military and security institutions depends on fostering a national identity that includes all segments of the Syrian society without exclusion, as well as enforcing fair and universally applied regulations.
As Syria navigates this transitional phase, the effectiveness of the Constitutional Declaration in consolidating arms under state authority remains uncertain, with numerous logistical and political hurdles still to be addressed.
This article was published in the Third issue of the Weekly Newspaper +963, released on Friday, March 21, 2025.
Download the full third issue, here: +الصحيفة – 963
