30 Oct 2019 14:44

Syrian Constitutional Committee starts work in Geneva

PARIS. Oct 30 (Interfax) - The Syrian Constitutional Committee started its work in Geneva on Wednesday; its main job is to prepare a constitutional reform and then hold elections in Syria on its basis.

The Committee includes 150 members from all Syrian population groups, including the Kurds. Its formation took nearly two years, and it consists of three groups of 50 people each, representing the government, the opposition, and civil society.

A meeting of a working group made up of 45 people - 15 from the Syrian authorities, 15 from the opposition negotiations commission, and 15 from Syria's civil society - should start shortly after the beginning of Constitutional Committee's work. After that, the decisions are to be endorsed by the Committee's entire composition.

Based on the previously agreed-upon rules of procedure, the 2012 Syrian constitution should serve as the basis for the Committee's work.

The decision on setting up the Constitutional Committee was made at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi on January 30, 2018. It was expected that the Committee would start its work at the beginning of 2019; however, some disagreements on a number of candidates on the list of civil society members and some procedural issues delayed its work until recently.