Official Convening of the Syrian Constitutional Committee
/
4:39
/
MP4
/
376.2 MB

Edited News | UNOG

Syrian Constitutional Committee Official Convening

Syrian Constitutional Committee should push for progress for war-weary Syrians, says UN negotiator

Work on drafting a new foundational text for war-torn Syria officially began at the UN in Geneva on Wednesday with representatives from the Government of Syria and the opposition sitting face to face and preparing to discuss the country’s future for the first time in the more than eight-year conflict.

Addressing the delegations – as well as a third group representing Syrian civil society - UN Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen urged them to seize the historic opportunity of working together, for the sake of the Syrian people.

“The future constitution belongs to Syrians, to the Syrian people and them alone,” he said, adding: “Today could become the beginning of something new, something meaningful for Syria and for Syrians everywhere. And this will be led by you, and you only as both Co-Chairs have emphasized. Together, we can make this come through, tomorrow, the hard work begins.”

According to the rules of procedure in these UN-facilitated discussions, meetings of the 150-member Committee will take place in parallel with a smaller “drafting group”, made up of 15 people from each of the three delegations.

It will be tasked with writing any new constitution, depending on what is voted on by the larger Committee.

Mr. Pedersen highlighted that the existing Syrian constitution could be re-examined, in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254, adopted unanimously on 18 December 2015 in New York.

“The Constitutional Committee may review the 2012 constitution including in the context of other Syrian constitutional experiences and amend the current constitution or draft a new constitution,” he said, adding that it was “the first political agreement between the Government and the Opposition to begin to implement a key aspect of Security Council resolution 2254, which called for setting a schedule and a process for drafting a new constitution.”

In addition to endorsing a road map for a negotiated peace between belligerents, the UN Security Council resolution also called for a nationwide ceasefire and free and fair elections, as part of a Syrian-led, Syrian-owned political transition.

Ahead of the official convening of the 150-member body at the UN’s European headquarters in Geneva, the organization’s Secretary-General, António Guterres, welcomed the fact that both the Government of Syria and the opposition Syrian Negotiations Commission “will sit together and take the first step on the political path out of the tragedy of the Syrian conflict”.

The UN chief also welcomed the fact that women’s representation on the committee was “very near 30 per cent”, a “minimum threshold” that the UN has long pushed for, in the interests of representing the widest possible number of Syrians affected by the conflict.

In his comments to the forum, the Government of Syria Co-Chair Ahmad Kuzbari expressed an openness to reviewing the country’s existing foundational text, the latest dating from 2012.

“It is a modern constitution,” he said, “but that does not prevent us Syrians from meeting for the purpose of considering any possible amendments to the current constitution or to consider a new constitution that would improve our reality and bring about a positive change that can be directly reflected in the lives of our people.”

And while Mr. Kuzbari underscored the fact that the Government was “committed to the success of this part of the political process”, he warned against “any occupying forces on our territory, the spoliation of the resources of our country and the continuing imposition of unilateral economic sanctions”.

These elements could threaten “the entire political process”, he said, insisting that they also breached the Charter of the United Nations and international legitimacy.

From the Opposition, Committee Co-Chair Hadi Albahra underscored his delegation’s desire for progress in negotiations, noting nonetheless that “the 150 people meeting today in this room have diverging opinions on many issues”.

Be that as it may, “after eight painful years of suffering in Syria, we came here determined to look for similarities and not differences”, Mr. Albahra said, highlighting that the conflict had claimed one million lives and displaced millions more. “We are fully aware of the aspirations of a whole nation that awaits salvation from unspeakable suffering.”

He also appealed for progress on other confidence-building measures on the ground in Syria, particularly the release of prisoners - or information about them.

“We must achieve the release of all detainees at the hands of all parties and to discover the fate of the missing and the forcibly displaced, we must respect the right of families to know the fate of their loved ones,” he said.

  1. Wide shot, exterior, Palais des Nations, Geneva.
  2. Wide shot, journalists and members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee in the Council Chamber at United Nations Geneva.
  3. Medium shot, Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, and Syrian Constitutional Committee Co-Chairs Mr. Ahmad Kuzbari from the Government and Mr. Hadi Albahra from the opposition, Council Chamber.
  4. SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “Today could become the beginning of something new, something meaningful for Syria and for Syrians everywhere. And this will be led by you, and you only as both Co-Chairs have emphasized. Together, we can make this come through, tomorrow, the hard work begins.”
  5. Medium shot, Members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Council Chamber.
  6. SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “This is the first political agreement between the Government and the Opposition to begin to implement a key aspect of Security Council resolution 2254, which called for setting a schedule and a process for drafting a new constitution.”
  7. Medium shot, panning, Members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Council Chamber.
  8. SOUNDBITE (English)— Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “The Constitutional Committee may review the 2012 constitution including in the context of other Syrian constitutional experiences and amend the current constitution or draft a new constitution.”
  9. Medium shot, panning, Members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Council Chamber.
  10. SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “The future constitution belongs to Syrians, to the Syrian people and them alone.”
  11. Close up, large TV screen showing “Syrian Constitutional Committee UN Geneva”, Council Chamber.
  12. SOUNDBITE (English) — Ahmad Kuzbari, Co-Chair (Government of Syria): “It is a modern constitution but that does not prevent us Syrians from meeting for the purpose of considering any possible amendments to the current constitution or to consider a new constitution that would improve our reality and bring about a positive change that can be directly reflected in the lives of our people .”
  13. Medium shot, podium with speakers (Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria, and Syrian Constitutional Committee Co-Chairs Mr. Ahmad Kuzbari from the Government and Mr. Hadi Albahra from the Opposition), Council Chamber.
  14. SOUNDBITE (English) — Hadi Albahra, Co-Chair (opposition): “We must achieve the release of all detainees at the hands of all parties and to discover the fate of the missing and the forcibly displaced, we must respect the right of families to know the fate of their loved ones.”
  15. Medium shot, Members of the Committee with photographer passing in front, Council Chamber.
  16. SOUNDBITE (English) — Ahmad Kuzbari, Co-Chair (Government of Syria): “We are committed to the success of this part of the political process. At the same time, we affirm that the presence of any occupying forces on our territory, the spoliation of the resources of our country and the continuing imposition of unilateral economic sanctions threaten the entire political process, as well as being in contradiction with international legitimacy and breaching the Charter of the United Nations.”
  17. Medium shot, Members of the Committee, panning, Council Chamber.
  18. SOUNDBITE (English) — Hadi Albahra, Co-Chair (opposition): “We all know that the 150 people meeting today in this room have diverging opinions on many issues. Some of these are simple and some others are substantive, but after eight painful years of suffering in Syria, we came here determined to look for similarities and not differences; we are fully aware of the aspirations of a whole nation that awaits salvation from unspeakable suffering.”
  19. Wide shot, panning, Council Chamber gallery, journalists and TV crews.
  20. Medium shot, Members of the Committee, Council Chamber.

Similar Stories

Gaza update - OCHA,  UNOG

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , UNOG

Gaza update - OCHA, UNOG ENG FRA

Gaza: a return to war must be avoided at all costs, insists UN chief

A return to war in Gaza must be avoided at all costs, UN Secretary-General António Guterres insisted on Tuesday, amid fears that the three-week old ceasefire agreement between Hamas fighters and Israel is about to end.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on escalating violence in DRC

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on escalating violence in DRC ENG FRA

UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned of the risk of the violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo escalating throughout the Great Lakes sub-region, following the recent takeover of Goma city by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group.

DR Congo - Human Rights Council  Special Session

1

1

1

Edited News | HRC

DR Congo - Human Rights Council Special Session ENG FRA

UN human rights chief Volker Türk expressed profound concerns at the ongoing violent escalation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) caused by the ongoing Rwanda-backed M23 offensive. “If nothing is done, the worst may be yet to come, for the people of the eastern DRC, but also beyond the country’s borders,” he told a Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

US funding cuts impact - UNAIDS

1

1

1

Edited News | UNAIDS

US funding cuts impact - UNAIDS ENG FRA

US aid funding cuts create confusion, put HIV prevention at risk, says UNAIDS 

The US pause in foreign assistance funding has created “a lot of confusion” in community HIV prevention work, despite the waiver issued for HIV/AIDS programmes, the UN agency to combat AIDS (UNAIDS) said on Friday.

US aid funding cuts,  UNFPA - OCHA - UNOG

1

1

1

Edited News | UNFPA , OCHA , UNOG

US aid funding cuts, UNFPA - OCHA - UNOG ENG FRA

UN agencies offered a dire assessment on Tuesday about the global impact of deep cuts to grassroots humanitarian funding by the incoming US administration and reiterated calls for Washington to retain its position as a global aid leader.

OPT humanitarian update  - UNRWA

1

1

1

Edited News | UNRWA

OPT humanitarian update - UNRWA ENG FRA

While West Bank camp is destroyed, UNRWA delivers bulk of aid in Gaza

Large swathes of Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank have been completely destroyed following a series of controlled detonations by the Israeli security forces (ISF), the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Human Rights crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence on Human Rights crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday raised the alarm about the growing human rights crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and James Rodehaver on fourth year since the coup in Myanmar

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and James Rodehaver on fourth year since the coup in Myanmar ENG FRA

At the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurence and the head of UN Human Rights Myanmar team James Rodehaver, describedunprecedented levels of killing in 2024, four years since the coup.

OPT Update UNRWA, WHO 31 January 2025

1

1

1

Edited News | WHO , UNRWA

OPT Update UNRWA, WHO 31 January 2025 ENG FRA

The largest UN agency in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, UNRWA, said on Friday that its staff are still helping the people of Gaza and the West Bank including East Jerusalem who depend on them “for their sheer survival”, a day after the Israeli parliament ban on its activities entered into force.

DRC humanitarian update OCHA - WFP - WHO

1

1

1

Edited News | OCHA , WFP , WHO

DRC humanitarian update OCHA - WFP - WHO ENG FRA

Goma: ‘Critical’ moment for population caught in crossfire – UN humanitarians

In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), civilians caught up in heavy fighting face a “critical” 24 hours, with food and water running low and aid unable to enter, UN humanitarians warned on Tuesday.

Holocaust remembrance day

1

1

1

Edited News | UNOG

Holocaust remembrance day ENG FRA

Nazi death camp survivor Ivan Lefkovits shared harrowing testimony of his experiences on Monday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, with a timeless message for present and future generations: “Don't be neutral, especially not towards human suffering." 

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank

1

1

1

Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG

UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al Kheetan on Israeli operation in the occupied West Bank ENG FRA

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said it was “deeply concerned by the use of unlawful lethal force in Jenin, in the occupied West Bank”, as part of an ongoing Israeli military operation.