UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen on Friday called for a safe environment for the advancement of the political process in Syria.
With the Constitutional Committee as "a door opener," there is a need to strive for a safe, calm and neutral environment that will allow any constitutional reform to be matched by emerging positive conditions on the ground, as well as an environment that will allow for inclusive, free and fair elections, Pedersen told the Security Council.
The 150-member Constitutional Committee held its first meeting in Geneva on Oct. 30. A 45-member small group of the committee, which is tasked to prepare and draft the constitutional proposals, have agreed to meet again on the coming Monday in Geneva, said Pedersen.
Undoubtedly, the work of the committee can build trust and confidence, said Pedersen. However, if confidence is to develop among the Syrian people in the political process, the dynamics on the ground needs to begin to change, and change must start with fully respecting international humanitarian and human rights law and the protection of civilians.
He voiced deep concern about renewed violence in Idlib governorate in the northwest.
There are 3 million civilians in Idlib, many of whom have fled from fighting elsewhere in Syria. There has been an escalation these past weeks in aerial bombardment and ground-based attacks from both sides, he said.
He noted that reports of clashes and shellings continue in the northeast of Syria. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes near Damascus, which Israel said was in response to rockets launched toward Israel, reportedly killed two civilians.
"All these dynamics are extremely worrying," he said. "It is my firm hope that, with the Constitutional Committee as a door opener, the government and the opposition will be able in time to establish a relationship; violence will abate and conditions on the ground will change; and a comprehensive and decisive solution will finally emerge for the benefit of all Syrians."
The Syrian parties, who are leading and owning this process, must seize the opportunity that the launch of the Constitutional Committee offers. They, and the international community, must build around it a mutually reinforcing dynamic for the sake of the Syrian people, said Pedersen.
