The United Nations Office at Geneva
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OSE Geir O. Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria presser
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26:35
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MP4
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325.9 MB
- Exterior wide shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, UN Geneva, nations’ flags flying, a beautiful day.
- Medium shot, UN Geneva Press Room III, a mask-wearing UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen arriving, journalists (also masked) seated apart from one another, typing on laptops. Mr. Pedersen is followed by his spokesperson Jenifer Fenton (masked); both sit apart at podium. Press photographers take photographs of the Special Envoy.
- Wide shot, UN Geneva Press Room III, showing UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen sitting at podium, flanked by spokesperson Jenifer Fenton with a Press photographer seated nearby checking his camera.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “I told the Security Council that, and I said that many times, that when I meet with Syrians from across the board, they all express to me a deep, deep frustration about the lack of progress on the political front. And as I said, the meeting here in Geneva of the Small Body of the Constitutional Committee will of course not change that, but if it is handled correctly, it can start to build confidence, and it can be the beginning of something that can send hope also to the Syrian people. And this is indeed my hope.”
- Medium shot, UN Geneva Press Room III, journalists sitting in front of shot, typing on laptops, UN Special Envoy to rear, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “I was very pleased when I listened to the Members of the Security Council on Wednesday to hear that they were unanimous in their support for the work we are doing and for the meeting of the Small body of the Constitutional Committee that will start here on Monday. And as I have said many times, if we are to be successful, we also need the support of the international community.”
- Medium shot, journalists sitting at table, one has his mask lowered, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “Obviously, they will all be tested – they are all tested - before they arrive in Geneva, and they will be tested on arrival in Geneva. Then, of course, they will all be wearing masks.”
- Medium close-up, journalist’s hands shown typing and laptop screen showing notes of Special Envoy’s comments, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “We need to see progress when it comes to abductees, to detainees and we need information on missing persons. This I think could perhaps be the one key important development that could help to build trust and confidence and I repeat my strong appeal to the parties on this again.”
- Medium close-up, rows of empty chairs in foreground, journalists to rear, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “Then of course it’s the issue about the ceasefire holding in Idlib in the northwest; I’ve asked that this could be strengthened by what I call a nationwide ceasefire in line with Security Council Resolution 2254. This is something I still believe is extremely relevant. And then of course, it goes without saying that at this this very critical time for the Syrian people, with the economy, with the economic collapse, with the pandemic, that everything is done that is possible from the international community to support the Syrian people.”
- Medium close-up, masked journalist checking mobile phone, seated, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “I’m confident that in my dialogue with the two co-chairs, that the two co-chairs will be able to handle the challenges of the meetings. You know, obviously in the meeting we had late October with the (larger group) of 150, it went very well, there were obviously very different narratives, very different perspectives.”
- Medium shot, journalists seated in foreground, UN Special Envoy to rear, Press Room III, Palais des Nations.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria: “I’ve been informed that there will be in Geneva during this time most probably, representatives from Russia, Iran and Turkey - the so-called Astana Three - and I believe also from the United States. There may also be others that will be here. But let me emphasise that the Constitutional Committee is of course, the work of that, is of course completely independent.”
Ahead of fresh talks in Geneva, UN Syria envoy appeals for progress on detainees, wider ceasefire
Success in next week’s UN-led talks aimed at securing a peaceful future for Syria depends on making progress on a series of thorny issues, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen said on Friday, in an appeal to belligerents to extend a fragile ceasefire and release detainees.
Speaking in Geneva, the UN negotiator also urged the international community to show the people of the war-torn country that they have not been forgotten, after almost a decade of war that has reduced large swaths to rubble and likely claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Their “frustration” about the lack of progress on a politically agreed end to the fighting was clear, he told journalists, two days after addressing the UN Security Council in New York.
“I told the Security Council that, and I said that many times, that when I meet with Syrians from across the board, they all express to me a deep, deep frustration about the lack of progress on the political front. And as I said, the meeting here in Geneva of the Small Body of the Constitutional Committee will of course not change that, but if it is handled correctly, it can start to build confidence, and it can be the beginning of something that can send hope also to the Syrian people. And this is indeed my hope.”
The convening on Monday of the Small Group of the Syrian Constitutional Committee brings together 15 representatives from Syria’s Government, 15 from the Syrian Negotiations Commission (SNC) and 15 more civil society participants, known as the “middle third”.
A larger group of 150 delegates is also part of the process, but only the smaller group is meeting in Geneva on Monday for a week.
Both bodies meet on the basis of an agreement between the Government of Syria and the opposition to implement a key part of Security Council resolution 2254 (from 2015), which called for setting a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution.
Monday’s gathering will be the first time that delegates will have met after a hiatus of nine months, caused by differences over the agenda which were resolved by March – and then by COVID restrictions – Mr. Pedersen said.
He added that he had been “very pleased when I listened to the Members of the Security Council on Wednesday to hear that they were unanimous in their support for the work we are doing and for the meeting of the Small body of the Constitutional Committee that will start here on Monday. And as I have said many times, if we are to be successful, we also need the support of the international community.”
Highlighting the difficulties associated with conducting the meeting amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Special Envoy insisted that necessary precautions will be taken to avoid transmission of possible infection by delegates.
These include moving the venue of discussions to a room with capacity for 200 people, four times the number expected, and ensuring physical distancing. “Obviously, they will all be tested – they are all tested - before they arrive in Geneva, and they will be tested on arrival in Geneva,” Mr. Pedersen said. “Then, of course, they will all be wearing masks.”
In order to make substantive progress during discussions, the Special Envoy insisted that there needs to be “progress when it comes to abductees, to detainees and we need information on missing persons. This I think could perhaps be the one key important development that could help to build trust and confidence and I repeat my strong appeal to the parties on this again.”
Addressing other matters was also crucial, he continued, including the “ceasefire holding in Idlib in the northwest; I’ve asked that this could be strengthened by what I call a nationwide ceasefire in line with Security Council Resolution 2254. This is something I still believe is extremely relevant. And then of course, it goes without saying that at this this very critical time for the Syrian people, with the economy, with the economic collapse, with the pandemic, that everything is done that is possible from the international community to support the Syrian people.”
Highlighting the Syrian-led nature of the constitutional discussions, with the co-chairs of the Government and opposition effectively presiding side by side as co-chairs, the UN Special Envoy noted that the October session had featured some “shouting and screaming”.
But he added: “I’m confident that in my dialogue with the two co-chairs, that the two co-chairs will be able to handle the challenges of the meetings. You know, obviously in the meeting we had late October with the (Larger Group) of 150, it went very well, there were obviously very different narratives, very different perspectives.”
In parallel with the Syrians’ discussions, Mr. Pedersen underscored the keen international interest in the proceedings.
“I’ve been informed that there will be in Geneva during this time most probably, representatives from Russia, Iran and Turkey - the so-called Astana Three - and I believe also from the United States. There may also be others that will be here. But let me emphasise that the Constitutional Committee is of course, the work of that, is of course completely independent.”
Teleprompter
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Thank you for joining us, particularly on a busy day, and thank you for observing the necessary health measures.
A few notes before the UN Special Envoy, Mr Patterson makes remarks.
UN Web TV will be broadcasting live.
If you're watching online, you should have the option to listen in Arabic.
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If you're an accredited journalist joining us via a remote option.
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I appreciate that information regarding the arrival and departure times of the committee members and other scheduling information are needed.
The Office of the Special Envoy will provide that information as soon as possible.
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And for those of you online, thank you for also joining.
As you know, it has taken us a little bit of time before we could actually tell you that the meeting will take place.
So we appreciate your patience when it comes to receiving information from us and indeed for your understanding.
I think you, you all realise what a challenging time it is because of the COVID-19.
But let me also say that we very much appreciate your continued interest for Syria and obviously for the work that the UN is doing on Syria.
There are many competing stories out there, but you know, we, we, there is a lot still to report when it comes to Syria.
You will have seen that I briefed the Security Council on Wednesday.
I will not repeat all the things I said to the Council.
I will just remind you a few of the highlights that I I told the Council.
Obviously we we all recall the deep suffering of the Syrian people after nearly a decade of war and conflict.
As I said to the Security Council, there has been untold tragedies during this.
And of course, no with what is happening in Lebanon with the tragic explosion, we also know that this has had a deep impact on Syrians, many, many being killed and and wounded.
And of course, it also has an impact on their livelihood that this is and many are being left homeless and even hungry.
So within this context, we are then convening the small body.
It is nearly nine months since last time we we met here in in Geneva.
It has been too long.
But you will understand that the part of the reason for this delay is of course, that it has been impossible to meet during the COVID-19.
We had an agreement as you would remember, early March on the agenda.
So it could have been possible then to meet immediately.
But obviously we had to postpone due to the the the chances related to Pandemic 19.
I I have said all along that the constitutional committee in itself and the discussions in the committee, of course, cannot solve the Syrian conflict.
But I have said that if it is handled correctly, it can be a door opener to a broader political process and it can help to build trust and confidence.
And it will send a message to the Syrian people, first and foremost, and to the national community that something new has started.
And let me remind you that the the agreement to start the work of the Constitutional Committee was, after nine years of conflict, the first agreement between the parties.
And this is important to remember that there actually is an agreement between the parties and this was the first agreement to start to implement what is a key aspect of Security Council Resolution 2254.
And as you all know, that is when it comes to the constitution, the language is that it is called for setting a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution.
And this, of course, as you will all understand, is a momentous task to establish a foundation and act and a social contract for Syrians.
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And as I've repeated many times amidst deep division and mistrust, I'm very pleased that I've been able to do this work in close cooperation with the two cultures, the one nominated by the government and the one nominated by the S and the sea.
And I know very much look forward to see them here in in Geneva again, together with all or all the nominated members.
As you will recall, the small body consists of 15 nominated by the government, 15 nominated by the SNC and 15 from civil society or as we call them, the middle 3rd.
And I'm pleased to say that as we are now talking together today, it seems that they all will be able to arrive newly tested here in Geneva during the weekend.
And I will start meetings during the weekends with the delegations, with the two cultures and also with the, with the representatives of the middle 3rd.
And of course, then preparing for what I will hope will be then the beginning of meetings on Monday the 24th.
And then we will be meeting for, for the whole week.
And hopefully we will be able to have substantial discussions moving the process forward and then by the end of the week, hopefully also be able to agree on the process for meeting forward and to and for an agenda for next meetings.
I, I told the Security Council that, and I've said that many times, that, you know, when I meet with Syrians from, from, from across the board, they all expressed to me a deep, deep frustration above the lack of progress on the political front.
And as I said, the meeting here in Geneva of the small body of the Constitution Committee will of course not change that.
But if, if it is handled correctly, it can start to build confidence and it can be the beginning of something that can send hope also to the Syrian people.
And this is indeed my, my, my hope.
And let me also say that I was very pleased to, when I listened to the members of the Security Council on Wednesday to hear that they were unanimous in their support for the work we are doing and for the meeting of the small body of the Constitutional committee that we'd start here on Monday.
And as I said many times, if we are to be successful, we also need the support of the international community.
So we need the Syrian parties, of course, that will be doing the job of hopefully drafting their own constitution.
And then we need also the support for the from the international community.
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Again, if you are online, please make sure your login reflects your name and organisation in the room at Nina.
Hi, thank you for taking my question.
I'll take this off.
I was just wondering, you said that it's this has been about nine months since the last round.
What substantially has changed?
Is there anything that gives you hope that you can make true progress this time?
And could you say something more about how COVID has impacted the organisation of the meeting and the organisation of the meeting?
COVID the the pandemic has impacted how you're you're organising the meeting and how, how?
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Take one more and then he can answer Nick.
Do you think, I mean is there any do you have on your agenda or any immediate prospects for initial confidence building message that you think have a realistic proposition chance of being implemented in the foreseeable future?
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Let me start by the measures that we are enforcing because of the COVID-19.
Obviously they will all be tested.
They have all tested before they arrive in Geneva and they will be tested on arrival in Geneva.
Then of course, they will all be wearing masks.
We will have the meeting this time will be in a in the meeting room where we had the 150 during the October session.
So it will be a huge meeting room, social distancing, masks and where we have taken all measures.
Also when it comes to, you know, supplies of food and drinks and everything, and also when it comes to, you know, moving them from the hotel to the Palais, everything has been gone through in quite some detail.
And I also discussed this of course, with the Co chairs and, and with the with the middle 3rd.
And I think we we're all very well prepared and understand the seriousness of the situation.
And I'm confident that we will be able to move forward with all these things in place to, to hinder the spread of the, of the, of the virus.
You know, as you rightly said, there has been nine months since last time we met.
We knew that when we started the process that it were going to be ups and downs.
And I think what we have learnt now is that it's extremely important to, to respect the agreement that has already been negotiated through, you know, it was quite a process before we managed to agree on the terms of, of reference and the rules of procedure.
And that, that serves as the basis for the meetings that we are going to have.
And I, I, my impression is that this is, is a lesson learned and hopefully we can build on that and be able to move forward, as I said in, in the process of meetings, the pandemic situation allowing no during the next few months.
So, you know, I, I would take not nothing for granted, but I'm, as I said, I'm confident that we all have learned the, the, the, the lesson when it comes to confidence building measures.
Obviously, the, the fact that we will be meeting here in Geneva after nine months is, is an important step in, in the right direction.
But as I've said many times, it's it is not enough.
So I've been appealing, I think in all my briefings to the Security Council that we need to see progress when it comes to abductees, to detainees, and we need information on missing persons.
This I think would could perhaps be the one key important development that could help to build trust and confidence.
And I and I repeat my strong appeal to the parties on this again.
Then of course it's the issues about the ceasefire holding in Idlib in in the northwest.
I've asked that this could be strengthened by an what I call a nationwide ceasefire in line with Security Council Resolution 2254.
This is something I still believe is is extremely relevant.
And then of course, it goes without saying that it at this very critical time for the Syrian people, with the economy, with the economic collapse, with the pandemic, that everything is done that is possible from the national community to support the Syrian people.
And all of this, I think could help to build, to build some confidence.
Next questions, I'll go first to Yander Kyberman, who's online.
If you can just kindly unmute and state your organisation when you ask your question please.
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I write for the Target, Spiegel Berlin and other German language media.
Basically I have two questions.
The first, will there be any bilateral or trilateral meetings without you as a go between?
And secondly, have the three factions outlined their views on the role of a future president of Syria?
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Another question in the room, if there is one.
It's good to see you again after nine months.
The last time in November, the talks did not even get going due to agenda problems.
They couldn't have any single, you know, concrete meeting here.
The opposition blamed the regime's delegation for raising issues other than the issue of constitutional committee.
Do you think it is set up for prevent a reputation of this time or if you encounter at the same situation this time, what will you do?
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Let me start with the last question.
I'm, I'm confident that in my dialogue with the two Co chairs that the two cultures will be able to hand the challenges of the meetings.
You know, obviously, you know, in the meeting we had late October with 150, it went very well.
There were, but there were obviously very different narratives, very different perspectives and there was some shouting and some screaming, But you know, overall the, the session went very well.
So I think we, you know, the two cultures knows how to run this and I'm confident that they will be able to do it again, of course, with, with the close cooperation of all, all the 45 members.
But I'm, I'm, I'm hopeful that, that, that we will be able to see that take place on the, whether there will be any bilateral meetings.
It is not planned in the bilateral meetings.
The way we do it is that I facilitate usually meet between them.
But of course, if the two sides want to meet bilaterally, no problem.
We that that will take place.
That of course goes without saying.
But I think the important thing here is to recognise, of course, that we will be sitting in the same room and we'll be having discussions about working on the constitution of Syria.
The, the future of the, if I understood you correctly, the future of the president of Syria obviously is, I'm, I'm sure they're very different opinions on that within the, the, the body of the 150 and, and the 45.
But this is something for the Syrians to discuss and to come to a conclusion too obviously.
There any additional questions in the back on my left please?
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And yes, Pedro Jean France Press good to meet you again.
If you could clarify what you just said about the, the organisation of the meeting.
You say they will be in the same room, but you, you will be moving from one to the other one.
Is that correct or not?
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And my, my first question was what will be for you the objective of, of the meeting of this week?
What, what do you want them to do to achieve?
Thank you the gentleman on my right and.
It's Peter Kenny from Anadulu English Service.
Good to see you again, Mr Peterson.
You've spoken about being hopeful about these talks, and I think this question you've been asked in in one form.
But you know, what is it that makes you hopeful this time?
I mean, you, you might you must have the hope based upon something to have launched this new round of talks.
Could you say what that hope is based upon?
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No, obviously that through this nine months, I've been in regular contacts with the cultures and also from time to time with, with the 15 members of the, of the middle third small body.
And I, I have, you know, the message I'm receiving from both cultures have been very positive.
So that's, you know, what I build my, my hopefulness on and also the fact that we have repeated, you know, the respect for the agreement that we have already negotiated when I but I but when I say that, of course, it doesn't mean that we will not face challenges, that there will still be ups and downs.
There will still be very serious differences.
There are very different narratives as to what needs to be done that will continue to be there.
But then, and that goes to the question sort of what do I hope we can achieve during this session?
Well, first and foremost, I hope that we can start the very difficult process of building trust and confidence.
And we all know that this will take time.
And I hope that one expression of that will be that we will be able to have, excuse me, what I call substantive discussions.
And that building of that substantive discussions, we will be able to identify how we will move forward and agree on when we will meet again and then what we will be we'll be discussing next time.
So let me just repeat what I said before there.
No one expects that this meeting here next week will produce a miracle or a breakthrough.
That's not what this is about.
This is about beginning, about a long encumbers on process where we hopefully can start to see progress and that this progress can also lead to progress in other areas that we need to implement when it comes to Security Council Resolution 2254.
Final set of questions on my left please in the front.
Oh no, no, it, it's, how to describe it, it's, it's a big meeting room that can seat more than 200 people.
So you know, the 45 would then be placed social distancing 2 metres between each participant.
The the government delegation will be sitting on one side, the middle third in the middle of the the room and the opposition SNC on the other side.
So and then I will be sitting in in the room as well.
But the cheering will be done by the two Co chairs.
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It's Christiana with the German Press Agency.
Could you elaborate on your talks or the role of the representatives of the outside or the international forces that are present in Syria, namely the US, the Russia, Turkey, I don't know the Iranians, who, who's going to be here and how are you going to engage?
With them.
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First Spanish insurgency in this nine months COVID happened, but in the underground many things also happened and we can suppose that the climate is not the same.
You mentioned a lot of frustration from all the parties and so I would like to have your reflection on what has changed in, you know, in in the mindset.
Of people that.
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And if you said that frustration is from all the sides, what is the frustration from the government who have have not done many very much maybe to facilitate this process?
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You know, because of the COVID, it's planning is a bit difficult, but I've been informed that there will be in, in Geneva during this time, most probably representatives from Russia, Iran and Turkey, the so-called Astana 3 and I believe also from the United States.
There may also be others that will be here, but let me emphasise that the Constitutional Committee is, of course, the work of, that is of course, completely independent of these international meetings.
So the important thing is that they express support for the work that we are doing, but the work will be done by the Syrian themself and it's important for me to emphasise also that this will be done strictly in line with the terms of reference and the roots of procedure and without any foreign interference.
Sorry, but you are meeting with representatives.
Of these, yes, I hope so.
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It's we, we are trying to schedule it in such a manner that I can do both things.
Meeting with the Constitution Committee and then seeing the representatives, yes.
I thank you all again for coming again we're.
Listen, let me, I, I, I will not pretend that I, listen, I, I will not go into speculations about sort of, you know, the different, the differences between the, the different factions and how they feel and not feel.
But I, but I think what is important for me to convey is that the, I think there is a, a sense of deep frustration that the process has not been moving forward.
You know, as I said, after nearly a decade of conflict.
And that there is, you know, as I said, also very different narratives, of course, on why this conflict started and how it is to be sorted out.
But, you know, that's part of my facilitation role to bring the parties together and focus on where I see that we have a common denominator that can help to move the process forward.
And, and the focus no and next week will of course be on make sure that we can do the facilitation of the work of the Constitution Committee in such a manner that we can move that process forward.
And that's where my focus is now.
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And again, we're grateful for your interest and we appreciate your cooperation.
In the coming week, again, we will provide more logistical and scheduling information when it's available.
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