Syrian Constitutional Committee a ‘sign of hope’: UN envoy tells Security Council

“This launch was a sign of hope for the Syrian people, and a chance for the Syrian parties to begin a direct dialogue that they lead and own, on the future of a broken country”, he stated.Negotiations for the Committee were held in Geneva at the end of October and brought together 150 participants: 50 each nominated by the Government, opposition and civil society.The men and women met over two days in the first face-to-face talks in five years, and the first to include civil society.However, proceedings were not easy, as Mr. Pedersen revealed. Opinions diverged sharply, deep feelings of anger and loss surfaced, and at times emotions ran high.“And yet, everyone stayed engaged,” he reported.“The members of the Committee agreed an initial agenda, and listened to each other’s discourse, and there were efforts in language, tone, gesture and positioning to signal an openness to dialogue. With each passing day, there was a little more of this.”