UN Tells Syrian Constitutional Committee Members to Be Polite, Avoid Personal Attacks

GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd November, 2019) Office of the UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen has instructed the Syrian Constitutional Committee to respect tact and refrain from personal attacks in the code of conduct agreed upon during the first two days of its work, the document released by the UN says.

The committee had a rocky start on Wednesday, when all delegations quarelled with each other over the role of the national Syrian army instead of discussing constitution. However, on Thursday and Friday things went smoother and they managed to agree on the members of the drafting committee and the code of conduct.

The committee pledges to "show respect and tact toward members and refrain from inflammatory speeches and personal attacks," the rules read.

The members will also interact "with mutual respect, in a peaceful atmosphere conducive to constructive debates."

Moreover, they cannot use personal accounts on social media "to communicate with the committee."

The 150-member Syrian Constitutional Committee is currently convening for the first time in Geneva. Representation within the body is split equally three ways between the nation's government, opposition and civil society. It also has the smaller committee within it that includes 45 people � 15 from each of the three represented groups � that will prepare constitutional initiatives, while the larger body will be responsible for adopting them.