National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change

{{Multiple issues|

{{Missing information|the coalition's activities after the fall of the Assad regime|date=February 2025}}}}

{{Infobox organization

| image = Logo_of_the_National_Coordination_Commitee.svg

| alt =

| map =

| motto =

| formation = 2011

| extinction =

| type =

| status =

| headquarters = Damascus, Syria

| coords =

| leader_title = Chairman

| leader_name = Hassan Abdel Azim

| leader_title2 =

| leader_name2 =

| main_organ =

| affiliations =

| budget =

| website = {{Official URL}}

| remarks =

| name = National Coordination Committee/National Coordination Body
هيئة التنسيق الوطنية لقوى التغيير الديمقراطي

| image_border =

| size = 150px

| msize =

| malt =

| mcaption =

| abbreviation = NCC or NCB

| location =

| region_served = Syria

| membership =

| num_staff =

| num_volunteers =

}}

The National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change (NCC), or National Coordination Body for Democratic Change (NCB) ({{langx|ar|هيئة التنسيق الوطنية لقوى التغيير الديمقراطي }}), is a Syrian coalition of opposition movements formed at the onset of the Syrian civil war. Chaired by Hassan Abdel Azim, it consists of 13 left-wing political parties and "independent political and youth activists".{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15798218 |title=Guide to the Syrian opposition

|work=BBC News|date=25 July 2012|access-date=13 November 2011}} It has been defined by Reuters as the internal opposition's main umbrella group. The NCC initially had several Kurdish political parties as members, but all except for the Democratic Union Party left in October 2011 to join the Kurdish National Council.{{Cite web|url=http://carnegie-mec.org/publications/?fa=48369|title=National Coordination Body for Democratic Change |work=Carnegie Middle East Center|access-date=11 September 2012}}

At the beginning of the civil war, relations with other Syrian opposition groups were generally poor. The Syrian Revolution General Commission, the Local Coordination Committees of Syria or the Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution were critical of the NCC's calls to dialogue with the Syrian government.{{Cite news|url=http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/02/meet_syrias_opposition|title=Meet Syria's Opposition|work=Foreign Policy|date=1 November 2011|access-date=13 November 2011|archive-date=9 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109181450/http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/02/meet_syrias_opposition|url-status=dead}} In September 2012, the Syrian National Council (SNC) reaffirmed that despite broadening its membership, it would not join with "currents close to [the] NCC".{{Cite news|url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gkNLLKPIh0kIJmdrUodsoS_YEqfQ?docId=CNG.07748a4305236cb85a1e484e8022dcba.c31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219212018/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gkNLLKPIh0kIJmdrUodsoS_YEqfQ?docId=CNG.07748a4305236cb85a1e484e8022dcba.c31|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 February 2014|title=Syria's opposition SNC to expand, reform|agency=Agence France-Presse|date=2 September 2012|access-date=2 September 2012}} Despite recognizing the Free Syrian Army on 23 September 2012, the FSA has dismissed the NCC as an extension of the government, stating that "this opposition is just the other face of the same coin".{{Cite news|url=http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/damascus-meeting-calls-for-peaceful-change-in-syria|title=Damascus meeting calls for peaceful change in Syria|agency=Reuters UK|date=23 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003035956/http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/damascus-meeting-calls-for-peaceful-change-in-syria/|archive-date=3 October 2012|url-status=dead}} Some opposition activists have accused the NCC of being a front organization for Bashar al-Assad's government and some of its members of being ex-government insiders.{{Cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f0d2797e-36ee-11e1-96bf-00144feabdc0.html|title=Syria opposition groups fail to reach accord

|work=Financial Times|date=4 January 2012|access-date=16 August 2012}}

The NCC differed from the SNC on two main points of strategy:

:1) The NCC refused to accept foreign military intervention, although it did accept various forms of support for the opposition and supports Arab League involvement in the conflict.

:2) It tried to emphasise nonviolent resistance to the Syrian government, despite endorsing the Free Syrian Army.

Eventually, the NCC cooperated with the Syrian National Coalition as part of the Syrian peace efforts.

History

The Coordination Committee is largely based inside Syria, and was formed in 2011 at a congress in Damascus. It gathers all of the political parties of the National Democratic Rally, formerly Syria's main secular opposition coalition, and few other organizations. It has a generally secular membership, although not exclusively so. Most member organizations have a leftist profile, while some are also strongly Arab Nationalist or Kurdish Nationalist. Damascus-based lawyer Hassan Abdul Azim, the chairman, is also the spokesperson of the National Democratic Rally nd the chairman of the Democratic Arab Socialist Union, a banned Nasserist opposition party. The Coordination Committee's spokesperson abroad is Haytham Manna, a Paris-based author and human rights activist, who spent three decades as a human rights activist and spokesperson for the Arab Commission for Human Rights (ACHR), which he helped create.

At an 18 March 2012 demonstration during the Syrian civil war, a protest organised by the NCC in Damascus was smaller than countryside demonstrations. The demonstration had been announced publicly beforehand. Participants chanted, "The people want the fall of the regime". Several were beaten by security forces, and eleven members of the NCC were briefly detained.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/world/middleeast/peace-march-in-damascus-is-cut-short-by-authorities.html|title=Peace March in Damascus Is Cut Short by Authorities|work=The New York Times|date=19 March 2012|access-date=28 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823213934/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/world/middleeast/peace-march-in-damascus-is-cut-short-by-authorities.html|archive-date=23 August 2012|url-status=live}}

The NCC has been hosted by Russia for talks with the Syrian government.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/9185464/Syria-opposition-will-never-defeat-Assads-army-says-Russia.html|title=Syria opposition will never defeat Assad's army, says Russia|work=The Telegraph|date=4 April 2012|access-date=16 August 2012}} During these talks in April 2012 SANA, the official news agency, claimed that the NCC and the government were in widespread agreement.{{Cite news|url=http://sana.sy/eng/22/2012/04/18/413257.htm|title=Russian Foreign Ministry.. A Meeting with Syrian National Coordination Committee for the Democratic Change held in Moscow|agency=Syrian Arab News Agency|date=18 April 2012|access-date=16 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730113614/http://sana.sy/eng/22/2012/04/18/413257.htm|archive-date=30 July 2013|url-status=dead}}

= Post-China meeting =

In September 2012 the NCC met with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, and called for a four-point plan which included political transition.{{Cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-syria-idUKBRE88G0JF20120917|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305141506/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-syria-idUKBRE88G0JF20120917|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 March 2016|title=China says solution to Syria crisis must be led by its people|work=Reuters|date=17 September 2012|access-date=17 September 2012}} Upon returning to Syria via Damascus International Airport, two of the NCC members who had been at the China meeting along with another NCC member who had come to collect them were detained by the Syrian government, with all contact being lost with them since 5:30 on 20 September.{{Cite news|url=http://syrianncb.org/2012/09/22/ncb-statement-forcibly-disappeared-ncb-leaders-are-now-known-to-be-in-hands-of-the-airforce-intelligence/|title=NCB Statement: Forcibly disappeared NCB leaders are now known to be in hands of the Airforce Intelligence|work=NBC/NCC official statement|date=22 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926062603/http://syrianncb.org/2012/09/22/ncb-statement-forcibly-disappeared-ncb-leaders-are-now-known-to-be-in-hands-of-the-airforce-intelligence/|archive-date=26 September 2012|url-status=dead}} The NCC spokesman Khalaf Dahowd described this detainment as kidnapping,{{Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/2012921142728182255.html|title=Syrian troops clash with rebels in Aleppo|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=23 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012}} with the NCC executive further elaborating that they believed the three members to have been "forcibly disappeared" by the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Directorate. The Syrian government on the other hand claimed that the NCC members were captured by "terrorist groups",{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-opposition-figures-meet-in-damascus-call-for-regimes-overthrow/2012/09/23/6b6e3f00-0567-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923183034/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-opposition-figures-meet-in-damascus-call-for-regimes-overthrow/2012/09/23/6b6e3f00-0567-11e2-9eea-333857f6a7bd_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 September 2012|title=Seeking credibility, Syrian regime allows opposition group to go ahead with Damascus meeting|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=23 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012}} despite having detained five other NCC members for the first time on Monday that week.

= National Conference for Syria Salvation =

On 23 September 2012, the NCC held a rare meeting in Damascus, and for the first time recognized the Free Syrian Army,{{Cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-09/23/c_131867244.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926070222/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-09/23/c_131867244.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 September 2012|title=Violence continues in Syria, opposition fails to overcome differences|work=Xinhuanet|date=23 September 2012|access-date=23 September 2012}} and for what The Washington Post described as the first time that the NCC formally called for the "overthrowing [of] the regime with all its symbols". The Preparatory Committee issued an eight-point statement which called for:

Toppling the government.{{Cite news|url=http://syrianncb.org/2012/09/23/syria-salvation-conference-our-main-principles/|title=Syria Salvation Conference: Our Main Principles|work=NCC/NCB official statement|date=23 September 2012|access-date=24 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120926032155/http://syrianncb.org/2012/09/23/syria-salvation-conference-our-main-principles/|archive-date=26 September 2012|url-status=dead}}
A rejection of sectarianism.
Using non-violent resistance to accomplish the revolution.
Removing the Syrian Army from the control of the regime.
Holding the government accountable for its actions.
The protection of civilians and the upholding of international law.
Resolving the status of Kurds within a democratic framework.
The undivided cohesion of the Syrian nation.

= 2014 =

After the pro-Assad Syrian Social Nationalist Party had withdrawn from the Popular Front for Change and Liberation,{{cite web|url=http://tishreen.news.sy/tishreen/public/read/315368|title=SSNP Supports Bashar al-Assad's Presidential Nomination|date=7 May 2014|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103112632/http://tishreen.news.sy/tishreen/public/read/315368|archive-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead}} the NCC on 10 August 2014 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the remaining Popular Front, calling for ″comprehensive grassroots change, which means the transition from the current authoritarian regime to a democratic pluralistic system within a democratic civil State based on the principle of equal citizenship to all Syrians regardless of their ethnic, religious and sectarian identities.″{{cite web|url=http://syrianncb.org/2014/08/11/memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-national-coordination-body-for-democratic-change-in-syria-ncb-and-the-change-and-liberation-front/|title=Memorandum of Understanding between the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria – NCB and the Change and Liberation Front|date=11 August 2014|access-date=3 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103145717/http://syrianncb.org/2014/08/11/memorandum-of-understanding-between-the-national-coordination-body-for-democratic-change-in-syria-ncb-and-the-change-and-liberation-front/|archive-date=3 November 2014|url-status=dead}}

=2019=

On 25 March 2019, the NCC condemned the United States' recognition of the disputed Golan Heights region as part of the State of Israel, calling on "the governments of the world and its peace-loving people" to oppose the US position.{{cite web |author1=National Coordination Body |title=The NCB condemns the statements made by the US President and his Foreign Minister regarding the occupied Syrian Arab Golan |url=http://www.syriahr.com/?p=315699 |website=SOHR |access-date=23 July 2019 |language=ar |date=25 March 2019}}

= 2023 =

In June 2023, reports of cooperation between the NCC and the Syrian Democratic Council, the political organization of the Rojava Kurdish controlled areas in Northern Syria, emerged.{{Cite web |last=MSD |date=2023-06-24 |title=A Consensus Document was agreed by the Syrian Democratic Council and the National Coordination Body |url=https://m-syria-d.com/en/?p=6233 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=The Syrian Democratic Council |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=ANHA |date=2023-06-24 |title=SDC - National Coordination Committee declare Consensus Document for solving Syrian crisis |url=https://hawarnews.com/en/168763146036845 |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=ANHA |language=en}}{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-02-27 |title=Dialogue with SDC continues: Syrian National Coordination Committee |url=https://npasyria.com/en/55158/ |access-date=2024-01-03 |website=North Press Agency |language=en-US}}

Role within the Syrian opposition

In March 2012, the Coordination Committee was described by The New York Times as "one of Syria’s most moderate opposition groups" in the context of their demonstration where "officers in plain clothes beat them with sticks and began making arrests." Prior to September 2012, its members did not call for the dismantlement of the Syrian government or the removal of Bashar al-Assad as president,{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} apart from their 18 March 2012 demonstration in Damascus when some of them chanted, "The people want the fall of the regime". The Coordination Committee, unlike the Syrian National Council, believed that the solution was to keep the current Syrian government, and hoped to resolve the current crisis through dialogue, in order to achieve "a safe and peaceful transition from a state of despotism to democracy".{{Cite news|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-opposition-still-weak-and-divided|title=Syrian Opposition Still Weak and Divided|work=Al Akhbar|date=18 October 2011|access-date=13 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120407125531/http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/syrian-opposition-still-weak-and-divided|archive-date=7 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

As part of the peace talks for Syria, the NCC was part of the opposition's High Negotiations Committee, together with delegates from the Syrian National Coalition and several rebel factions including the Free Syrian Army.{{cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/para/hnc.htm|title=High Negotiations Committee (HNC)|first=John|last=Pike|website=www.globalsecurity.org}}

List of constituent parties

Name	Representative
class="wikitable sortable"
Democratic Arab Socialist Union	Hassan Abdul Azim
Arab Revolutionary Workers Party	Tariq Abu Al-Hassan
Communist Labour Party	Abdul-Aziz al-Khair
Arab Socialist Movement	Munir al-Bitar
Syrian Communist Party (Political Bureau)
Syrian Democratic People's Party	Not represented in Executive Bureau
Together for a Free and Democratic Syria	Munther Khaddam
Democratic Union Party	Salih Muslim Muhammad
Marxist Left Assembly
Democratic Socialist Arab Ba'ath Party	Brahim Makhous

References

{{Reflist|31em|refs=

{{cite web | last =Haddad | first =Bassam | title =The Current Impasse in Syria: Interview with Haytham Manna | work =Jadaliyya | date =30 June 2012 | url =http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/6245/the-current-impasse-in-syria_interview-with-haytha | access-date =26 November 2012 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130104192826/http://www.jadaliyya.com/pages/index/6245/the-current-impasse-in-syria_interview-with-haytha | archive-date =4 January 2013 | url-status =live | df =dmy-all }}

}}