UN Syria envoy ‘impressed’ by constitution talks

UN Syria envoy ‘impressed’ by constitution talks
November 2, 2019, 12:01 pm

UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva. (Reuters)

UN Syria envoy Geir Pedersen on Friday voiced hope over talks in Geneva between the Syrian government, opposition and civil society despite “deep differences” after years of war.

Pedersen said he was “very impressed” that the sides were meeting at all to discuss amending the country’s constitution ahead of possible elections as part of a UN peace plan.

“This is a Syrian process, led by Syrians,” he told reporters.

The talks, which began on Wednesday, involve 150 delegates and have no fixed end date. After a plenary session this week, the talks will resume on Monday with only 45 delegates.

The conflict in Syria has killed more than 370,000 people since 2011.

The constitutional review is a central part of the UN plan defined by Security Council resolution 2254, adopted in December 2015.

The resolution also calls for UN-supervised elections.

source:AFP

Lebanon Uber driver gets death sentence for murder of British woman Democrat O’Rourke says he is dropping out of 2020 US presidential race