Syria constitutional talks resume in Geneva

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Representatives of the Syrian regime, opposition and civil society met in Geneva on Monday to resume talks on drafting a new Syrian constitution after more than three months of delays.

The United Nations, which sponsors the talks, has said progress is slow due to a lack of trust between parties.

“We know that we have not lived up to the expectations of the Syrian people in making the progress that is necessary to end the suffering,” said UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen.

“My hope is that if we can continue to build trust within the constitutional committee, that that could have a positive impact also on the other issues.”

“It is my hope that with the relative calm that we are seeing in Syria now, despite all the daily violations, that it should be possible to focus more heavily on the political process and all the elements of Security Council Resolution 2254,” he added. 

The committee - made up of 45 delegates – was created in September 2019 following a 2015 resolution aiming to bring an end to the civil war now in its tenth year.

Talks first began in October last year, and were delayed after some delegates tested positive for COVID-19 in August.

Kamiran Hajo, a Kurdish member of the opposition delegation, told Rudaw on Monday that there has not been any “serious progress” in the talks. 

The civil war has killed upwards of 400,000 people and displaced millions of people since it began in 2011, following a brutal government crackdown on protests against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Regime committee members called on others present at Monday’s meeting to focus on the return of Syrians from abroad, according to the state-owned SANA news outlet.

Despite the continuation of talks, Syrian army and Turkish-backed opposition continue to clash in the northwest of the country, with fighting ongoing in Idlib province.