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STORY: GENEVA / SYRIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE
TRT: 4:56
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 29 - 30 NOVEMBER 2020, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / RECENT
RECENT – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
1.Wide shot, exterior, United Nations
30 NOVEMBER 2020 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2. Med shot, panning, Government of Syria delegation arrivals by minibus, Syrian Constitutional Committee co-chair Ahmad Kuzbari emerges from sliding side door and enters Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
3. Med shot, showing one minibus pulling away while two others in shot deliver more delegates to the meeting at Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
4. Med shot, panning, Opposition arrivals by minibus, led by Syrian Constitutional Committee co-chair Hadi Albahra, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
5. Med shot, minibus side door slides open, civil society delegates emerge, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
6. Med shot, arrivals, participants arriving by minibus, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
7. Med shot, panning down and showing minibus leaving meeting venue at Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
8.Med shot, Syrian Constitutional Committee co-chair Ahmad Kuzbari (Government of Syria) putting down his briefcase in the meeting room, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
9.Wide shot, Special Envoy entering meeting room and greeting Amjad Issa (Government of Syria), as well as other participants, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
10. Med shot, Syrian Constitutional Committee co-chair Ahmad Kuzbari talks with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen while co-chair for the Opposition, Hadi Albahra comes to join them, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
11. Med shot, panning, showing the meeting room and the participants seated, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
12. Med shot, panning down from translations booths to meeting room delegates, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
13. Wide shot, meeting room with participants seated, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
14. Close up, Special Envoy speaking into microphone, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
15. Close up, co-chair for the Opposition, Hadi Albahra, listening, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
16. Close up, Syrian Constitutional Committee co-chair Ahmad Kuzbari sitting at his desk, talking, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
17. Wide shot, meeting room with the participants sitting and podium to rear, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
29 NOVEMBER 2020 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
18. Med shot, Room XIV, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva, with Special Envoy Geir Pedersen shown sitting on podium, flanked by spokesperson Jenifer Fenton.
19.Med shot, TV broadcast in foreground and podium with speakers to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations.
20. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria:
“And I’m pleased to say that you know, after intense discussions with Swiss authorities, the Swiss health authorities and with the UNOG, and of course with the cooperation of the three delegations, it will now be possible for us to start the meeting tomorrow, tomorrow morning, at 10 o’clock.”
21.Close up, UN Geneva technician monitoring the live video stream of the press conference on webtv.un.org
22. Med shot, Press photographer, Room XIV, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria:
“And then it would be followed up with a fifth session in January which will focus on constitutional principles, or basic principles of the constitution, so this is obviously a package.”
24. Med shot, translators listening to Geir Pedersen, viewed from behind, podium to rear, Room XIV, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
25. Close up, photographer’s laptop showing image of Geir Pedersen being treated on-screen.
26. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria:
“We had hoped it should have been possible to make much more progress on the political side that what we have done so far. We know that we have not lived up to the expectations of the Syrian people in making the progress that is necessary in ending the suffering for the Syrian people, so it is my hope that in the relative calm that we are seeing in Syria now, despite all the daily violations, that it should be possible to focus more heavily on the political process and all the elements of Security Council resolution 2254.”
27. Med shot, onlookers watching press conference, Room XIV, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
28. SOUNDBITE (English) Geir Pedersen, UN Special Envoy for Syria:
“Let’s also be honest and say that we knew from the very beginning that moving forward also on discussions on the constitutional process would be difficult one, and after 10 years of - nearly now 10 years - of conflict there is a deep lack of trust between the parties, we knew that we would have to overcome this deep mistrust, we knew that that would take time, it would be a - you know - a difficult process; I hope that what we have achieved is actually the beginning of starting to build trust between the parties and that this building of trust could then be a door-opener to a broader political process.”
29. Med shot, podium speakers Geir Pedersen and spokesperson Jenifer Fenton donning or wearing masks, panning up to UN logo on wall behind them. Room XIV, Palais des Nations, UN Geneva.
A fourth round of intra-Syrian talks hosted by the United Nations in Geneva started on Monday (30 Nov).
Ahead of the week-long meeting, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told reporters on Sunday (29 Nov) that the meeting could present an opportunity to “focus more heavily” on securing a peaceful political solution to almost a decade of fighting.
“I’m pleased to say that you know, after intense discussions with Swiss authorities, the Swiss health authorities and with the UNOG, and of course with the cooperation of the three delegations, it will now be possible for us to start the meeting tomorrow, tomorrow morning, at 10 o’clock,” Pedersen said.
The UN negotiator explained that the two Syrian co-chairs had agreed to discuss national foundations and principles, while constitutional matters will be on the agenda at a fifth meeting in the new year.
“(The fourth meeting) would be followed up with a fifth session in January which will focus on constitutional principles, or basic principles of the constitution, so this is obviously a package,” he told journalists attending the press conference remotely, in line with COVID-19 prevention measures.
Taking part in the discussions in the Swiss city are an equal number of delegates from the Government, opposition and civil society, who total 45 in all and are known as the “Small Body”.
It works closely with a larger, 150-member Constitutional Committee which is a key part the United Nations’ effort for a Syrian-owned and Syrian-led end to the country’s devastating conflict, that has seen more than five million Syrians flee across borders, six million internally displaced and 13 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
Fielding questions about what Mr Pedersen’s expectations were for this new round of talks, he stressed that millions of suffering Syrians were counting on progress being made, as detailed in the 2015 Security Council resolution 2254, which calls for a ceasefire and political settlement to the Syrian conflict.
“We had hoped it should have been possible to make much more progress on the political side that what we have done so far,” he said.
He added, “we know that we have not lived up to the expectations of the Syrian people in making the progress that is necessary in ending the suffering for the Syrian people, so it is my hope that in the relative calm that we are seeing in Syria now, despite all the daily violations, that it should be possible to focus more heavily on the political process and all the elements of Security Council resolution 2254.”
While the last (third) round of talks in Geneva in August were curtailed when delegation members positive for the coronavirus, Pedersen also noted that earlier disagreements between the co-chairs had been responsible for challenges in getting them to sit down face to face.
“Let’s also be honest and say that we knew from the very beginning that moving forward also on discussions on the constitutional process would be difficult one,” he said.
Pederson continued, “after 10 years of - nearly now 10 years - of conflict there is a deep lack of trust between the parties, we knew that we would have to overcome this deep mistrust, we knew that that would take time, it would be a - you know - a difficult process; I hope that what we have achieved is actually the beginning of starting to build trust between the parties and that this building of trust could then be a door-opener to a broader political process.”
