Syrian Constitutional Committee begins second day

GENEVA

The Syrian Constitutional Committee -- made up of members of the opposition, civil society, and regime -- began its second day of work on Thursday in Geneva with talks on a constitutional roadmap.

The committee is mandated, within the context of a UN-facilitated Geneva process, to prepare and draft constitutional reforms paving the way for a political settlement in Syria, to be held to popular approval.

Special UN Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen, together with Constitutional Committee co-chairs Ahmad Kuzbari from the Syrian regime and Hadi Albahra from the opposition, chaired the meeting after the previous’ day’s opening ceremony attended by its 150 members.

"This is a historic moment, because for the first time, 50 nominees of the government and 50 nominees of the opposition are sitting face-to-face -- but also two co-chairs side-by-side [...] a chance for something new for Syria," Pedersen, who will chair the talks, said on Monday at the committee's launch.

While saying their meeting is a "sign of hope", he said the committee was "duty bound to strive to take on board the views of all your fellow citizens."

Thursday’s talks will involve face-to-face discussions, which will be followed by the designation of a 45-strong body -- 15 from each of the Syrian regime, the opposition and the civil society blocs -- to start work on a new constitution aiming for UN-supervised elections.

The goal is for consensus decisions where possible, and otherwise with a majority of 75%.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, over 5 million civilians have become refugees. Turkey hosts 3.6 million of them, more than any country in the world.

GENEVA

The Syrian Constitutional Committee -- made up of members of the opposition, civil society, and regime -- began its second day of work on Thursday in Geneva with talks on a constitutional roadmap.

While saying their meeting is a "sign of hope", he said the committee was "duty bound to strive to take on board the views of all your fellow citizens."

The goal is for consensus decisions where possible, and otherwise with a majority of 75%.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, over 5 million civilians have become refugees. Turkey hosts 3.6 million of them, more than any country in the world.