The controversial body tasked with managing functions of the dissolved Baath Party was responsible to Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani [Getty]
Syria may be preparing to dissolve a controversial body set up to manage the assets and affiliate organisations of the former ruling Baath Party and oversee civil society groups and trade unions.
A source in the Syrian Foreign Ministry told The New Arab that Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani issued a directive on Wednesday to dissolve the General Secretariat for Political Affairs and integrate its staff into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries.
The anonymous source said however that no official decision had been taken yet to dissolve the General Secretariat, although he added that its officials had been informed of the upcoming dissolution.
A second source at the General Secretariat confirmed the forthcoming dissolution to The New Arab, saying “We have been informed of the dissolution of the General Secretariat for Political Affairs, but no official decision has been issued in this regard.”
The Foreign Ministry source told The New Arab that the decision to dissolve the controversial body, “came as a result of the confusion surrounding the nature of the Secretariat’s work and the lack of cohesion among its branches in the Syrian provinces.”
He explained that the work of unions and civil society organizations that had been under the supervision of the General Secretariat would be placed under an independent body that will be established for this purpose.
The General Secretariat has been frequently criticised for assuming the functions the authoritarian Baath Party, which was dissolved in Syria following the December 2024 ousting of former dictator Bashar al-Assad by rebel forces led by current President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
The General Secretariat for Political Affairs was established by Foreign Minister Shaibani in March 2025, in order to manage Baath party affairs and supervise societal organisations.
In addition to the controversy regarding this, there have also been questions regarding its legality and its responsibility to the foreign minister – whose role is usually limited to managing foreign affairs – as well as its supervision of professional unions, which are meant to be independent bodies not subject to government or party control.