Syria Leader Signs Constitutional Declaration, Hailing 'New History'

Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa hailed the start of a "new history" for his country on Thursday, signing into force a constitutional declaration regulating its five-year transitional period and laying out rights for women and freedom of expression.

The declaration comes three months after Islamist-led rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad's repressive government, leading to calls for an inclusive new Syria that respects rights.

It also follows a wave of violence that broke out on Syria's Mediterranean coast last week, which a war monitor said left nearly 1,500 civilians dead, most of them members of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs.

Interim President Sharaa on Thursday said he hoped the constitutional declaration would mark the beginning of "a new history for Syria, where we replace oppression with justice... and suffering with mercy", as he signed the document at the presidential palace.

The new authorities had previously repealed the Assad-era constitution and dissolved parliament.

The declaration sets out a transitional period of five years, during which a "transitional justice commission" would be formed to "determine the means for accountability, establish the facts, and provide justice to victims and survivors" of the former government's misdeeds.

It enshrines "women's right to participate in work and education, and have all their social, political and economic rights guaranteed", said Abdul Hamid al-Awak, a member of the committee that drafted the document.

The declaration maintains the requirement that the president of the republic must be a Muslim, with Islamic jurisprudence set out as "the main source" of legislation.

It also stipulates the "absolute separation of powers", Awak said, pointing to toppled president Assad's "encroachment" on other branches of government.

It gives the president a sole exceptional power: declaring a state of emergency.

Awak added that the people's assembly, a third of which will be appointed by the president, would be tasked with drafting all legislation.

A supreme electoral committee would be formed to oversee the election of members of the legislature.

Under the declaration, the legislature cannot impeach the president, nor can the president dismiss any lawmakers.

Executive power would also be restricted to the president in the transitional period, Awak said, pointing to the need for "rapid action to confront any difficulties".

He added that the declaration also guarantees the "freedom of opinion, expression and the press", and affirms the independence of the judiciary.

Awak said a committee would be formed to draft a new permanent constitution.

The declaration becomes effective as soon as it is officially published.

Sharaa, who led the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which spearheaded Assad's overthrow, was appointed interim president in late January.

He promised to issue the constitutional declaration to serve as a "legal reference" during the transition period.

The Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria sharply criticised the declaration, saying it "contradicts the reality of Syria and its diversity".

The declaration "lacks the... spirit of Syria's people and its various components from Kurds to Arabs, as well as Syriacs, Assyrians and other" groups, it added in a statement.

Earlier this week, the Syrian Democratic Forces -- the Kurdish-led administration's de facto army -- struck a deal with the authorities in Damascus to be integrated into state institutions.

But the administration on Thursday said the declaration "does not represent the aspirations of our people" and "undermines efforts to achieve true democracy".

A UN spokesman quoted special envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Thursday as saying he "hopes the (constitutional) declaration can be a solid legal framework for a genuinely credible and inclusive political transition", adding "proper implementation will be key".

The declaration comes a week after the deadly rash of violence on Syria's coast, in what analysts described as the gravest threat so far to the transitional process.

Mass killings mainly targeted Alawites, resulting in at least 1,476 civilian deaths at the hands of the security forces and their allies, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday: "Nothing can justify the killing of civilians", calling for a credible investigation.

He added the UN was ready to work with Syrians towards "an inclusive political transition that ensures accountability, fosters national healing, and lays the foundation for Syria's long-term recovery".

Sharaa has vowed to prosecute those behind the bloodshed, with the authorities announcing several arrests.