Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

World

UN envoy wants action on Syria's missing, new constitution

Associated Press
Published | Updated
  • c14be2e8-
    Image 1 of 2

    Geir Pedersen, The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, speaks during a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

  • 250fe656-
    Image 2 of 2

    The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen greets people before the start of a Security Council meeting at U.N. headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

UNITED NATIONS – The new U.N. special envoy for Syria says his goals are to achieve "concrete action" on detained and missing people and the convening of a committee to draft a new constitution for the war-torn country "as soon as possible."

Geir Pedersen says he also wants to begin a sustained dialogue with the government and opposition "on building trust and confidence," to engage a wide range of Syrians and to help the international community deepen its dialogue on achieving a political settlement of the eight-year conflict.

Pedersen's first briefing to the Security Council Thursday indicated a much broader approach to trying to end the war and restore peace to Syria than his predecessor, Staffan de Mistura, who spent his last year trying unsuccessfully to form a constitutional committee.