Eighth round of talks on Syrian Constitution begins
Members of Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian government, opposition parties, and the UN special envoy to Syria will meet for the eighth round of talks towards revising the Syrian constitution today. Prior rounds of negotiations ended in no agreement, however, the UN believes progress can still be made.
The Syrian Civil War began in 2011 as a series of demonstrations against the Assad regime, inspired by the Arab Spring. The violence spread quickly and the crackdown intensified, which has now put the country in an 11-year war.
A 2012 UN roadmap to the establishment of a new constitution has already been endorsed by the Arab League, EU, Turkey, and the five permanent members of the UNSC. However, with consistent fighting throughout the nation and increasingly entrenched positions, this roadmap has not been utilized.
Over the past two years, the conflict has remained at a standstill that has divided Syria into four areas. Assad forces have regained about 70% of the country’s territory, while the opposition with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have taken control of the northeast. Therefore, given the slow progress, the negotiations have previously made, it is unlikely that today’s talks will produce substantial outcomes.
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