Syrian constitutional work begins in Geneva

The work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, under the auspices of the International Organization, was launched shortly at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. The meeting was decided after a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the guarantor countries, Turkish Mevlut Cavusoglu, Russian Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Mohammad Javad Zarif, following their meeting in Geneva with the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen. The guarantors of the Astana process on Syria, Turkey, Russia and Iran, welcomed “the formation of the committee and its convening in Geneva on October 30 (Wednesday), thanks to the contribution of the guarantors of Astana, and the implementation of the decisions of the Syrian Dialogue Conference (in the Russian resort of Sochi 2018).” The committee is chaired by two co-chairs of the opposition and the regime, and it consists of 150 members, 50 for each of the opposition, the regime and civil society organizations. The three countries expressed their “conviction that the launch of the constitutional committee proves that there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict.” It reiterated its “commitment to move forward in the political process, which is led by the Syrians and communicates with the United Nations, in line with UN Resolution 2254.” She stressed “its determination to support the work of the Constitutional Committee, through continuous interaction with the Syrian parties, and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to ensure its sustainable and effective work.”