Constitutional Committee on Syria Kicks off its Activities in Geneva

GENEVA, (ST)- Activities of the Committee for Discussing the Syrian Constitution kicked off on Wednesday in Geneva with the participation of 150 members who represent the Syrian government, the “opposition” parties and the Syrian civil society. Each side is represented by 50 members.

During the opening ceremony, head of the Syrian government side in the Constitutional Committee Ahmad al- Kuzbari stressed that the Syrian people have faced a heinous war imposed on them for years and they have achieved major victories over terrorism in the country.

Al- Kuzbari said “we reject any form of foreign interference in our internal affairs,” reiterating that the Syrian people have the exclusive right to determine the future of their country.

”We are against all forms of interference in the work of the constitutional committee. The discussions we are conducting in Geneva are based on respecting Syria’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” al-Kuzbari said, calling on members of the committee to do their best to make the committee’s work a success and consequently find a way to solve the crisis politically.

 Al-Kuzbari pointed out that the constitution is the corner stone and the solid base on which countries are built. It embodies people’s aspirations to develop the laws that maintain the rights of citizens and specify their duties.

“Syria, which presented to the world the first alphabet, has renewed its constitution eight times until it reached the current constitution which was approved in 2012 after a nationwide referendum ,” al-Kuzbari said.

“The current constitution is modern, but this doesn’t prevent us, as Syrians, to meet in order to make any amendment to it or even change it and draft a new constitution that would make a positive change that improves the life of our people,” he added.

He went on to say that “our war on terrorism will continue until the last inch of Syrian territories is liberated…the presence of any occupying troops in our country and the looting of Syria’s resources threaten the political process and undermine efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Syria.”

On his part, the UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen affirmed that launching the work of the Constitutional Committee is an important step towards finding a political solution to the crisis in Syria based on the UN resolution No. 2254.

He asserted that the committee must be committed to respecting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“The constitution belongs only to the Syrian people who are the only ones who can decide the future of their country,” Pedersen clarified, noting that UN’s role in this process is confined to facilitating the work of the Constitutional Committee.

He made it clear that the committee may discuss the Syrian constitution of the year 2012 or amend it or even draft a new one and submit it to a popular referendum.

Hamda Mustafa