UN hopes for meeting on Syria constitution next month
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations is still aiming to send invitations to 150 Syrians by mid-December to participate in a committee that would draft a new constitution for Syria, which is key to holding elections and ending the country’s civil war, a UN envoy said on Monday.
Staffan de Mistura, the special envoy for Syria, told the Security Council that the United Nations also aims to hold the committee’s first meeting before Dec 31.
But de Mistura said the Syrian government is objecting to 50 members of the committee representing civil society, experts, independents, tribal leaders and women that he was authorized to put together at a Russian-hosted Syrian peace conference in Sochi on Jan 30.
Under the Sochi agreement, the committee is to comprise 150 members. There is already agreement on the 50-member delegation from the government and the 50-member delegation from the opposition.
China’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ma Zhaoxu, on Monday also called for efforts to maintain the cease-fire in the Syrian city of Idlib and establish a constitutional committee as soon as possible.
He asked for efforts to promote the early establishment of the constitutional committee that is inclusive and acceptable to all by addressing the legitimate concerns of the Syrian government and all other parties.
‘A political solution’
Meanwhile, De Mistura warned that if there is no agreement on the remaining members, the UN may have to conclude that it’s not possible to form a “credible and inclusive” constitutional committee at this stage.
He said the UN welcomes “constructive and moderate suggestions” to change the list of the disputed 50 members. But de Mistura said they must “maintain the same spirit of credibility, balance and international legitimacy,” and he stressed that the list can’t be filled with political leaders who are already represented.
De Mistura was supposed to step down at the end of December but UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said on Monday he will be staying on “for a bit longer” to make sure there is no gap “at an extremely critical time in the Syria talks”. He will be succeeded by veteran Norwegian ambassador Geir Pederson.
“The weeks to come will be of crucial importance” in attempts to form a constitution-drafting committee, de Mistura said.
US deputy ambassador Jonathan Cohen urged the constitutional committee to be convened in December “if not sooner”.
He said de Mistura has been “more than patient and flexible” in accepting input on the list of committee members.
“Any further deliberation must be seen for what it is: an artificial delay, a transparent attempt to distract and delay progress toward a political solution in Syria,” Cohen said.