The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Syrian Constitutional Committee Press Briefing 22 October 2021
The process of drafting a new constitution for Syria has been “a big disappointment” UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen said on Friday. Following the conclusion of discussions in Geneva, a consensus on how to move forward was not achieved, he added.
The drafting process between Government and opposition Co-Chairs of the Syrian Constitutional Committee (Small Drafting Body) and civil society began last Monday and was led by Mr. Pedersen. The aim was to produce a text that would help support a peaceful future for the country, after more than a decade of war. The development followed close to nine months of negotiations by the Special Envoy to reach a consensus on constitutional reform. In January, he said that insufficient progress had been made at the fifth meeting of the 45-member Small Drafting Body and that there was a realization that “we could not continue the way we have been going”. Under discussion were four agenda baskets set out in 2017 by then UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan. These describe the general terms of governance and political transition, constitution, elections and counterterrorism.
It is nearly two years since the first meeting of the full Syrian Constitutional Committee, a 150-member body which comprises 50 representatives of the Syrian Government, 50 from the opposition and 50 from civil society, represented by the so-called “Middle Third”. Fifteen members of each bloc represent the Small Drafting Body. For the first time ever, committee co-chairs Ahmad Kuzbari, the Syrian government representative, and Hadi al-Bahra, from the opposition side, met together with Mr. Pedersen on Sunday morning.
“It’s fair to say it was ups and downs over the four days,” Mr. Pedersen said. “We had three days which went well and one more difficult day. In the end, we had good discussions on the different principles”. Now they will have to concentrate on bringing the principles forward and agree on what they disagree over. But he warned that a proper understanding needed to be developed to move forward. On a positive note, the negotiator said that trust had been established this week which could be built on. But he emphasized that political will was needed to find a way to deal with the process, so differences were minimised and areas of commonalities were identified. Mr. Pederson added that he “could see possibilities, but as long as the parties have not concluded this, I’m not the one to conclude this on their behalf”.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OCHA , WHO
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences , Statements | UNEP
After 10 days of UN talks on plastic pollution, no consensus was reached; negotiations to continue.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Hospitals continue to overflow with people injured while seeking food - WHO
As besieged Palestinian civilians face widespread malnutrition and starvation, hospitals in the Strip are increasingly overwhelmed by the influx of victims of shootings and other injuries at food distribution areas, warns the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by representatives from the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the World Health Organization.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | OHCHR
Launch of IIMM’s Annual Report detailing its progress in investigating serious international crimes committed in Myanmar, including advances in identifying perpetrators.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNEP
Press Conference - Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-5.2)
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , WHO , UNMAS
Urgent help is needed to halt a deadly cholera outbreak that is sweeping across Sudan, UN agencies said on Friday, while warning that communities continue to be terrorized by parties to the conflict even as they flee violence.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNHCR , WHO , UNMAS , UN HABITAT
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Mine Action Service, and UN Habitat.
2
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News , Images | UNEP
Negotiations got under way at UN Geneva on Tuesday to agree on a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution, with delegates from nearly 180 countries attending.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF
Alessandra Vellucci of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Children’s Fund, UN Women, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: Hundreds of trucks per day of free aid needed “for months”, in addition to commercial supplies - OCHA
Despite the tactical pauses Israel introduced last week to allow some safe passage for humanitarian convoys, the amount of aid that has entered Gaza remains by far insufficient for the starving population, and UN trucks continue to face impediments on their way to delivering aid.
1
1
1
Edited News | UN WOMEN
Aid agencies echoed wider warnings of growing signs of widespread starvation in Gaza on Tuesday, as UN-partnered international food security experts released their most dire assessment yet of the situation in the wartorn enclave.