Syrian opposition plans to start writing constitution in 5th round of Geneva talks

The Syrian opposition plans to start drafting constitutional clauses during its fifth round of talks next month.

"We are planning to write some constitutional principles which have been agreed upon by consensus," Hadi al-Bahra, who headed the Syrian opposition delegation at the Constitutional Committee's fourth round of the Syria talks at the United Nations' Geneva office, said Sunday.

The fifth round of talks is set to take place on Jan. 25-29.

Representatives from the Bashar Assad regime, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the Syrian opposition, who are responsible for the writing of the constitution, recently met in Geneva.

The United Nations' Syria envoy Geir O. Pedersen later held a press conference, underlining that despite some tensions and disagreements, they will be able to prepare a new constitution draft in the upcoming rounds of Syria talks.

Adding that the "national institutions and principles" were high on the agenda during the talks, Pedersen said the talks will determine the future of Syria.

Meanwhile, al-Bahra said the fifth round "will be a real test" to see the intentions of all parties involved and to write the fundamental principles of the constitution.

The official also said crucial issues like migrants, as well as incarcerated and missing people were areas of disagreement between the regime and the opposition.

He also underlined the importance of the committee for confidence-building.

Al-Bahra also said that the parties largely followed "behavior and protocol rules" and added that there were some minor incidents.

The Constitutional Committee was created in September 2019 and first convened a month later.

The official also called upon the international community to exert pressure on the Syrian regime to abide by U.N. Security Council Resolution 2254, which calls for a cease-fire and political settlement in Syria.

The Security Council Resolution 2254 was unanimously adopted on Dec. 18, 2015. It called for a cease-fire and political settlement in Syria. The resolution demanded that all parties immediately cease any attacks against civilian targets, urged all member states to support efforts to achieve a cease-fire and requested the U.N. to convene the parties to engage in formal negotiations in early January 2016. The resolution also underlined that free and fair elections will be held under U.N. supervision. The political transition will be Syrian-led.

The U.N. Resolution 2254 was invoked by Iran, Russia and Turkey as the legal basis for the political process required to solve the Syrian conflict, at the first round of the Astana Talks in January 2017. The first meeting of the Astana process was in Turkey in January 2017 to facilitate U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.