The first meeting of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, Geneva, Switzerland, October 2019 (Anadolu)

The Assad regime and opposition have begun discussion of the drafting of a new Syrian Constitution, almost four years after the 150-member committee was announced.

I joined TRT World’s The Newsmakers on Monday to consider whether the document can bring meaningful political and social change.

The other panellists in the 25-minute conversation are Yahya al-Aridi, an opposition representative in the 150-member Constitutional Committee, and lawyer Ibrahim Olabi, a board member of the Syrian British Council. The host is Andrea Sanke.

See also UN Envoy: Assad Regime and Opposition to Begin Drafting of Syria Constitution

I favor a document that brings equal rights for all Syrians and reforms. But a document must have processes, institutions, and systems.

Very few politicians like to give up power, and in Syria we have an Assad regime — Bashar al-Assad, his family, and his inner circle — who have ruled the country for more than half a century.

So how can the implementation of a Constitution open up this system?