GENEVA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen said here on Monday that the Constitutional Committee's launch should be a sign of hope for the long-suffering Syrian people.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Pedersen said that the creation of the Constitutional Committee is a shared promise to the Syrian people to try in earnest to agree on new constitutional arrangements for Syria's future.
"The agreement to establish the Constitutional Committee, with terms of reference and core rules of procedure, marks the first political agreement between the Government of Syria and the opposition," Pedersen noted.
The 150 members of the Syrian Constitutional Committee will be formally launched on Oct. 30 and then hold its first meeting here in Geneva.
Under an intra-Syrian agreement reached in Sochi, Russia in January 2018, the Constitutional Committee is to be composed of representatives from the Syrian government, the opposition and civil society representatives, each with 50 members.
According to the UN envoy, after the opening ceremony and the first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, a smaller constitution drafting body of 45 will start their work. Among the drafting body, 15 will come from the Syrian government, 15 from the opposition, and another 15 from the middle third.
"Let me stress that the future constitution of Syria belongs to the Syrian people and to them alone. It is all about meeting the aspirations of the Syrian people," Pedersen said.
"Syrians, not outsiders, will draft the constitution. And the Syrian people must popularly approve it," he added.
