Seventh Session of Constitutional Committee Meeting to convene on Monday

The seventh session of the small body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee meetings will begin on Monday, March 21, at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. The meetings will convene until the end of the week. The two Co-Chairs will hold a preparatory meeting on Sunday with the UN Special Envoy for Syria.

The seventh session meetings will be held after the announcement made by the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, in a briefing to the Security Council on 25 February. According to Pedersen, the two Co-Chairs of the Constitutional Committee had reached a mechanism to improve the work of the committee, a mechanism that the opposition delegation to the small body underscored the need to develop and complete in order to progress in the work of the Constitutional Committee.

The Co-Chair of the Constitutional Committee, Hadi Albahra, and members of the small body arrived in Geneva on Saturday to participate in the seventh session. They have held preparatory meetings in preparation for the preparatory meeting that will take place on Sunday between the two Co-Chairs.

Before the start of the meetings of the seventh session of the Constitutional Committee, Albahra stated from the residence of the delegation in Geneva: “We hope that all delegations will adhere to the specified and effective approach and mechanism without any procrastination or equivocation and that everyone will engage seriously, keenly and responsibly to move forward in drafting a new constitution for Syria, all the way to reviewing and reforming constitutional practices to ensure the implementation of the desired new constitution.”

Albahra stressed that the delegation of the Syrian revolution and opposition forces takes the task entrusted to it very seriously, as the mission of the Constitutional Committee is important and contributes to achieving the political solution desired by Syrians, yet it is not sufficient alone. Efforts should be exerted to start the negotiation process to fully implement the provisions of Article 4 of UNSCR 2254 (2015), which represents the only solution that can ensure sustainable stability and security.

Meetings of this session are supposed to be held in accordance with the criteria and elements that Pedersen announced prior to the sixth session, which was held on 18 October 2021, that the two Co-Chairs agreed on, namely “1) uphold the terms of reference and the core rules of procedure; 2) Presenting texts of the key constitutional principles before the meetings.” These elements were completed for this session, according to Pedersen’s statement.

Pedersen announced in his last briefing at the UN Security Council on February 25 that the two Co-Chairs had reached a mechanism to improve the workings of the Constitutional Committee, which they had raised on the fifth day of the previous session. He stressed that it is important that the small body’s work continues, in such a manner that it builds confidence among the Syrian people. It is also important to set a specific timetable to accomplish its mission, expressing his conviction that the parties’ positions are far apart, and that narrowing their differences will inevitably be an incremental process. He stressed the need for consensus and constructive engagement by all parties.

“It is important that the small body’s work continues in such a manner that it builds trust and confidence.” Pederson stated. “The parties’ positions are substantively far apart, and narrowing their differences will inevitably be an incremental process. But, in line with the Terms of Reference and Core Rules of Procedure, what we do need is … that the Committee works expeditiously and continuously to produce results and continued progress”.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations announced on 23 September 2019, that an agreement had been reached between the “Syrian Government” and the “SNC” on the formation of a balanced, credible and inclusive constitutional committee, comprising representatives of the government, the opposition and civil society, to discuss and draft a new constitution, or make constitutional reforms, within the track of political solution, pursuant to the Geneva Communiqué, UNSCR 2254 of 2015 and relevant resolutions.

The Constitutional Committee is composed of fifty members from each of the three parties. The small body is composed of 45 members comprising fifteen members from each party. The small body convenes in Geneva, where it held its first meeting in October 2019.

According to Pedersen’s announcement in his last briefing, the next sessions are supposed to be held  consecutively in May and June 2022.