45-member body of Syrian Constitutional Committee raises hope
by Daily Sabah with AA
ANKARANov 05, 2019 - 2:18 pm GMT+3
by Daily Sabah with AA
Nov 05, 2019 2:18 pm
Meeting for the first time on Monday, the 45 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee responsible for preparing and drafting constitutional reforms gathered in Geneva, resulting in positive outcomes and raising hope for a possible solution for the years of conflict in Syria. “I could say it turned out in a positive way because we have decided on the method of the agenda, which we will start following tomorrow,” Hadi Albahra, the co-chair for the opposition group, told Anadolu Agency (AA) after a two-hour meeting.
He said the meeting discussed the method and agenda of the group that will draft a new constitution for Syria.
“There was a consensus among all the parties involved in the committee,” according to Albahra. The meetings of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which are taking place at U.N. headquarters in Geneva, started on Oct. 30 and reached a possible turning point as the center for a political solution. The first phase of the talks, officially the “First Working Session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee Large Body,” started with the U.N.’s special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the delegations. “The fact that 150 Syrians have been sitting together... discussing the future of Syria was quite impressive,” the envoy expressed following the meetings, emphasizing that he process is “led by Syrians, and it is owned by the Syrians, and it is all about meeting the aspirations of the Syrian people.” The Syrian Constitutional Committee, which is seen as a historic step toward peace in Syria and has received great support from the international community, is to be made of 150 members, with 50 regime delegates, 50 opposition members and 50 civil society members chosen by the U.N. envoy to Syria. The launch of a process for a new constitution and the formation of the committee started at a conference in Russia in January 2018. Agreeing on the full list of members has taken over 18 months.
Pressure from international stakeholders, starting with Russia, Turkey and Iran, makes it more likely that the committee will function effectively. What all parties agree on, for now, is the need to preserve Syria's territorial integrity and political unity. It is also noteworthy that this middle ground is an important starting point for Syria's new constitution.
Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to U.N. numbers.
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