Another round of talks by the so-called Constitutional Committee for Syria has begun in Geneva under UN mediation. According to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, which is not at the table, no substantial results are expected.
Another round of talks by the so-called Constitutional Committee for Syria began in Geneva on Monday under the mediation of the United Nations (UN). Fifteen representatives each of the government in Damascus, the Turkish-backed "opposition" and civil society want to seek progress in drafting a new constitution for the war-torn country.
Four basic principles are at stake, UN special envoy Geir Pedersen said in advance; fundamentals of governance, state identity, state symbols, and the structure and functions of public authorities. A mechanism for discussing joint texts on Friday was also agreed in advance. This with the aim of avoiding blockades, as there were in previous rounds of negotiations.
It is the seventh meeting since negotiations began about two and a half years ago. The goal is to find a political way out of the more than eleven-year conflict. The basis for this is UN Resolution 2254 from 2015. The committee is to either update the old constitution or draw up a new text, on which Syrians are then to vote in a referendum.
However, the rounds so far have mainly served to stake out individual spheres of interest and broker deals between Russia and Turkey, and therefore ended with virtually no tangible results. At the insistence of the government in Ankara, one party continues to be absent from the table in Geneva: the autonomous administration of northern and eastern Syria. The latter takes the view that such a committee would not be binding without the involvement of the peoples of northern and eastern Syria.
"We see that the basis of this process is based on international interests and approaches that are different from the interests of the Syrian people," Hikmet Hebib, co-chair of the Legislative Council for the Cizîrê region, said in Hesekê on Monday. Therefore, he added, substantial results are not to be expected. No "real intentions" for a peace-oriented post-war order in the interest of the Syrian nation could be seen among any of the parties involved in the constitutional committee, he said. "Even on a smaller scale, no compromises could be found between the negotiators," Hebib said. It stands to reason, therefore, that civilian interests are not at the forefront here, he added.
