GENEVA, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- The latest session of the Syrian Constitutional Committee Small Body, which was suspended Monday after four of its members had tested positive for COVID-19, resumed on Thursday afternoon in Geneva.
A media statement issued by the Office of the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said that the decision was made following additional testing and further medical and expert advice regarding four earlier positive tests for COVID-19.
The Office was "informed by the competent health authorities that the nature of those cases is such that the Third Session of the Constitutional Committee Small Body can resume its meetings, with full social distancing and related precautions in place," the statement said.
"Having consulted the Co-Chairs and committee members, the meetings will resume at 14:00 hours today at the Palais des Nations in Geneva," it added.
At a press briefing, UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen highlighted the strong desire and support to resume the Syrian constitutional talks.
"I equally appreciate the strong desire to resume the work of the constitutional committee, and I think that is a signal of the importance of this process," he said, adding that he has also received strong signals of support from key international players.
The latest Syrian constitutional talks, which aim at paving the way for a political solution for the decade-long conflict in the country, opened in Geneva on Monday morning. It then had to be suspended after four delegates tested positive for COVID-19.
The Special Envoy told reporters that only those who have tested negative will attend the resumed session.
"We have a clear agenda for this session, and the small body had a constructive first meeting on the agenda, when they met on Monday," Pedersen said.
Saying that there were some usual points raised and some good interactions, the UN envoy said that he believes all delegates are interested to have substantive discussions during the remainder of the session, which he said most probably will last until Saturday.
The Syrian Constitutional Committee -- which comprises representatives of the Syrian government, the opposition, and civil society -- was officially launched in Geneva on Oct. 30, 2019 to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country.
The Committee and its Small Body held two rounds of sessions in November last year, without making any major progress.
The Small Body of the committee includes 45 delegates, 15 each from the three groups. Enditem
