Guterres announces the formation of the Syrian Constitutional Committee

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, announced on Monday the formation of the Constitutional Committee for Syria, to begin its work in the coming weeks, as part of efforts to end the war that has been going on since 2011.

Guterres told reporters at the UN headquarters that the Bashar al-Assad regime and the Syrian Negotiations Committee (affiliated with the opposition) had agreed to “establish a credible, balanced and comprehensive constitutional committee under international leadership.”

He added that he welcomed the progress made by the government and the opposition, and that his special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, had managed the agreement in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254 of 2015.

He added that the Constitutional Preparation Committee will hold its first meeting in the coming weeks.

He added, “I firmly believe that the launch of the constitutional committee with the organization and leadership of Syria can and should be the beginning of the political path out of the tragedy, a solution that is in line with Resolution 2254 (2015), which meets the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, and is based on a strong commitment the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the country.”

That resolution stipulated the reformulation of the Syrian constitution, as part of a political transition process, and called on all parties to immediately stop launching attacks against civilian targets, and urged UN Security Council member states to support ceasefire efforts.