Update: In December 2024, the 24-year reign of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria is over. Assad fled to Russia as opposition forces closed in on the capital, Damascus. Syria’s Assad Regime Fell to HTS Rebels, Israel The country remains embroiled in sectarian violence.
| Select Syria’s Assad Regime Falls to HTS Rebels, Israel | Syria’s Assad Regime Falls to HTS Rebels, Israel |
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October 30, 2019-As fighting again broke out in northern Syria, representatives the Syrian government, opposition forced and civil society met today in Geneva to negotiate a new constitution for the country plagued by eight years of civil war.
“The task you are about to take is momentous,” UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen told the 150 delegates. “You are mandated to prepare and draft for popular approval a constitutional reform as a contribution to the political settlement in Syria.”
The directive is part of Security Council Resolution 2254, adopted unanimously in 2015, which sets out goals for a political solution for a sovereign state of Syria.
The committee is cochaired by a representative from the government and opposition forces and its makeup consists of 15 government members, 15 opposition members and 15 civil society members. It also has a 150-person body from the same sectors, each with 50 members. Decisions require a 75 percent threshold.
While the process for a new constitution got underway, fighting broke out between Turkish and Syrian forces. Meanwhile, some U.S. forces remain in northeast Syria guarding oil fields.
