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Syrian Constitutional Committee unable to agree on members of closed-door meetings so far

The first session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee was held on October 30 in Geneva

GENEVA, October 31. /TASS/. The Syrian Constitutional Committee has not been able to approve the members of the closed-door meetings that must include 15 representatives of every delegation, Samir Masaad, a representative of Syria’s civil society, informed TASS on Thursday.

"Not yet," he said in response to the corresponding question, adding that this issue is currently under discussion.

On September 23, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres announced the establishment of the Syrian Constitutional Committee. The first session of the committee took place on October 30 in Geneva.

Earlier, another member of the civil society delegation Meis Kreidi said that the committee’s work would resume tomorrow. She noted that every member of the committee can express their opinion, with representatives from the government and the opposition taking turns to talk. Thursday’s meeting was chaired by Ahmad Kuzbari, representative of the Syrian government.

The decision to set up a constitutional committee was made during the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, held in the Russian resort of Sochi on January 30, 2018. According to the plan proposed by former UN Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, the committee is made up of 150 people, 50 delegates each to be fielded by Damascus, opposition and civil society groups. Each group is also obliged to name 15 experts to take part in meetings held in Geneva behind closed doors.