Press Release: The Co-Chair of the Constitutional Committee on behalf of the Syrian Negotiation Commission

The Co-Chair of the Constitutional Commission, on behalf of the SNC delegation, received an official letter from the special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Syria, informing him that the ninth session of the Constitutional Committee’s meetings will be postponed, because he was “informed by the Co-Chair nominated by the government of the Syrian Arab Republic that his delegation would be ready to participate in the ninth session only if the requests of the Russian Federation, as he called them, were met.”

This postponement, disruption, and setting preconditions that Syrians have nothing to do with, proves once again their complete separation from the reality of the tragedy experienced by Syrians, and their persistence in evading the obligations to implement Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015). It also proves that they prioritize foreign interests over our Syrian national interests. The committee was formed by agreement on its terms of reference and core rules of procedure, which clearly stipulated that it would be Syrian-led and Syrian-owned and facilitated by the United Nations; and that the work of the committee shall be to serve the interests of the Syrian people alone, expeditiously and continuously, to produce results and continued progress without foreign interference. Therefore, it cannot be accepted to suspend its work for any reason, especially in order to fulfill the demands of a foreign party.

Our work in the Committee is solely to meet the legitimate and rightful interests and demands of the Syrian people. Our main goal is to put an end to the tragedy and suffering of all Syrians, so that they can build a future they deserve after their sacrifice, and rebuild our free, sovereign and independent country under a democratic and pluralistic political system and the rule of law that guarantees civil liberties and rights, and equality in their obligations.

Hence, we demand that the special envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, as the facilitator of the committee’s meetings, within the mandate he has under the UNSCR 2254 (2015), submits a comprehensive report on the work of the constitutional committee to the Security Council since its establishment up till today, pointing out the obstacles it is facing. We call upon the member states of the Security Council to oblige the Committee to implement the Special Envoy’s proposals for a meaningful discussion methodology that achieves continuous and tangible progress in its work, for which we have submitted our approval in addition to other proposals that we have made. It is also necessity to oblige all parties to meet a specific schedule for the Constitutional Committee’s meeting on a regular basis in Geneva, so that the interval between each session is only one week, which allows it to accomplish its mission in accordance with its mandate under UNSCR 2254 (2015), which stipulated, among other things, a schedule and a process for drafting a new constitution.

Co-Chair of the Constitutional Committee

Eng. Hadi Albahra

16 July 2022

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