UN, September 23. /TASS/. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the creation of a Syrian Constitutional Committee on Monday and also thanked Russia, Turkey and Iran for the work they’ve done to achieve that.
"I am pleased to announce the agreement of the Government of the Syrian Arab Republic and the Syrian Negotiations Commission for a credible, balanced and inclusive Constitutional Committee that will be facilitated by the United Nations in Geneva. I welcome the progress made by the Government and the opposition. My Special Envoy facilitated the agreement in accordance with Security Council resolution 2254 and will convene the Constitutional Committee in the coming weeks," he told reporters.
Guterres also underlined that "the launch of the Syrian-owned and Syrian-led Constitutional Committee can and must be the beginning of the political path out of the tragedy toward a solution in line with resolution 2254 that meets the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians and is based on a strong commitment to the country’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity. The Constitutional Committee’s launch and work must be accompanied by concrete actions to build trust and confidence as my Special Envoy discharges his mandate to facilitate a broader political process forward."
"I appreciate the diplomatic engagement of the Governments of Russia, Turkey and Iran in supporting the conclusion of the agreement," he stressed. "I am also grateful for the support of the members of the Security Council and the members of the Small Group (the UK, Germany, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the US and France - TASS)," the UN Secretary-General added. At the same time, Guterres refused to answer reporters’ questions.
On September 18, Guterres announced that the Syrian Constitutional Committee would soon be launched. On September 9, Russian Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East and Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said that the committee would be formed in September. UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen was mentioning the same dates.
The decision to set up a constitutional committee was agreed on at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, held in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 30, 2018. According to the plan proposed by former UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura (Pedersen’s predecessor), the committee is made up of 150 people, 50 delegates each to be fielded by Damascus, opposition and civil societies. Each group is also obliged to name 15 experts to take part in meetings held in Geneva behind closed doors.