UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The second session of the Syrian constitutional committee failed to get off the ground due to lack of consensus over the agenda, the UN envoy for Syria told the Security Council Friday.
Geir Pedersen, the secretary-general's special representative for Syria, assured the council, however, that there are lessons to be learned from the meeting of the "small body" of the committee, held in Geneva in late November.
While the full committee is made up of around 150, the small body consists of 45 representatives from the Syrian government, opposition and civil society.
Pedersen had asked the two co-chairs of the committee to submit their agenda proposals ahead of the second session, which began on Nov. 25.
The opposition's workplan, sent on Nov. 21, featured 10 constitutional headings and focused on the preamble to the constitution, as well as basic principles.
The government proposed an agenda on Nov. 25, which called for discussion of "national pillars" of concern to the Syrian people. "Constitutional matters would only be taken up afterwards."
Pedersen worked to facilitate consensus between the sides, which was not possible. "As things stand, and absent an agreed agenda, I see no reason to convene another session of the small body."
Pedersen said what happened at the second session only underscores the need for a broader and comprehensive political process for Syria, which has been embroiled in a brutal civil conflict since 2011.
"While a constitutional committee cannot solve the crisis, it can help foster the trust and confidence between the parties, and that can open the door to a broader process, and, equally, such a broader process can feed positively into the work on the constitutional issues," the envoy noted.
