The United Nations announced the suspension of talks on the Syrian constitution in Geneva today, Monday, after it was found that three participants were infected with the Corona epidemic, a few hours after the start of the meeting.
The office of the United Nations special envoy to Syria Geir Pedersen said in a statement that immediate measures, consistent with protocols, were taken to mitigate the risks and trace anyone in contact with the infected.
While the official SANA agency said that the injuries were distributed among the three delegations, opposition sources denied the presence of an infection among its delegation members.
As for the fate of the talks, the United Nations said only that a declaration would be issued at the appropriate time.
Mini commission
Today, the work of the mini-constitutional committee meetings began in Geneva, with the participation of the delegation of the Syrian regime, the delegation of the opposition and the delegation of civil society.
These talks bring together 45 people, chosen equally by Damascus, the opposition, and UN delegate Geir Pedersen, with the aim of involving representatives of civil society.
Earlier, Pedersen told the media on Friday that the talks in Geneva "cannot of course solve the Syrian conflict," but they represent "an important step in the right direction."
The Syrian Constitutional Committee in charge of reforming the 2012 constitution was formed with the aim of organizing future elections, on October 30th, at the United Nations in Geneva, with 150 people attending. A small committee of 45 members was tasked with delving into the details of the constitution.
The United Nations hopes that this mechanism will give way to a political settlement to the conflict, which has left more than 380,000 people dead since 2011.