Geneva - Sana
The Constitution Debate Committee concluded the meetings of the fifth round at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva today after several sessions over the course of the current week, where the head of the national delegation, Dr. Ahmed Al-Kuzbari, confirmed that the delegation presented ideas that express the aspirations of the Syrians and will continue to actively participate in the upcoming rounds.
Al-Kuzbari explained in a press conference that the delegation presented at the end of the tour today a paper containing a number of basic elements in the context of preparing the principles of the constitution that are suitable for the constitutional reform process in the context of the mandate of the committee and awaiting the response of the other party in the next round, stressing that the delegation will continue to participate fully in the rounds. Next, when it is determined in agreement with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Syria, Geir Pederson.
Al-Kuzbari stated that the other party was circumventing the agreed agenda, which is the discussion of the basic principles in the constitution or the constitutional principles, and propositions were presented that contradict this schedule on the one hand and move away from the Syrian reality on the other hand, indicating that some of the proposals presented explicitly reflect the agendas of certain and operating countries. Some members of the other side, and therefore they bear full responsibility for this behavior in front of all Syrians.
In response to journalists' questions, he stressed that there are many basic principles that constitute the solid basis of the constitution, the first of which is the state’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity, the inability to give up any inch of its territory and not allow any outside interference in the internal affairs of the state, in addition to that we have put forward an important principle represented in the symbols of the state. Like the name of the country, its flag, national anthem, and its official language, all these topics are important and must be agreed upon because they represent the basis for what can be discussed later.
Al-Kuzbari indicated that the committee’s work is clear, which is preparing and drafting a constitutional reform. The other side suggested the drafting issue, and it is very natural for us not to go beyond the first stage, which is preparation, where principles are discussed, and then the proposed formula is developed after discussion.
Al-Kuzbari stated that the national delegation presented in the previous round a mechanism for progress and it was rejected directly by the other party, and the UN envoy returned to present what he called a “methodology” after the delegations arrived in Geneva, which consists in defining a number of principles that must be presented on a daily basis, and this is a precondition and contravenes the paper of procedures and basic standards. As for the second point that was also raised after arriving in Geneva, it says that the mechanism or the proposal is supposed to be agreed upon before the start of the tour. Likewise, this mechanism requires the selection of one person from the delegation to explain the principles that it wants to lay down on that day and this is illogical, subjective and constructive. Absolutely. If I were to choose someone to present the principles, what does it mean for the delegation to be made up of 15 members?
Pedersen had announced in a press conference the conclusion of the fifth round of the constitutional discussion committee meetings without making progress despite the lengthy discussions and excellent interventions, as he described, explaining that he intends to hold a number of meetings in preparation for the next round without setting a date.
The fourth round of meetings of the Constitution Debate Committee was held in Geneva from November 30 to December 4.
