Syrian Constitutional Committee sessions “big disappointment”: Pedersen

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The process of drafting a new constitution for Syria has been “a big disappointment”, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen concluded on Friday.

Following the end of discussions in Geneva, a consensus on how to move forward was not achieved, he added.

Pedersen pointed out that over the last four days, “each side presented their view on four basic principles, divided among them.”

“We didn’t manage to achieve what we had hoped to achieve; that we would have a good discussion on how to reach forward on some kind of consensus,” Pedersen told reporters.

On October 17, the Small Body of the Syrian Constitutional Committee holds its first meetings in Geneva between the two co-chairs of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition in the presence of Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria.

The meeting between the two co-chairs is the first of its kind since the starting of the Constitutional Committee.

The Constitutional Committee has a Large and a Small Body: the Large Body comprises 150 members: 50 members of the government, 50 of the opposition, and 50 of civil society. While the Small Body comprises 45 members: 15 members for each party.

Both the opposition-nominated Hadi al-Bahra and the government-nominated Ahmad Kuzbari are the co-chairs of the Constitutional Committee.