UN: Geneva 2 is 'mission of hope'

(Vatican Radio) United Nations officials are hailing the upcoming Geneva conference on Syria as a “mission of hope” and “huge opportunity for peace”. The UN announced on Monday that Syria’s government and opposition groups have agreed to hold peace talks in Geneva on 22 January.

Previous attempts to bring the two sides together had failed, mainly because of disputes over who should represent the Syrian opposition and government.

Details of the conference have yet to be released but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said it will aim at establishing a transitional governing body with full executive powers.

“At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield. This is a mission of hope,” he said. “We go with the clear understanding that the Geneva conference is a vehicle for peaceful transition that fulfills the legitimate aspirations of all the Syrian people, for freedom and dignity, and which guarantees safety and protection to all communities in Syria.”

Ahead of the peace talks, the top joint envoy for the UN and the League of Arab States, Lakhdar Brahimi, has called on both sides in the conflict o reduce the violence and to release political prisoners ahead of the peace talks.

Brahimi said the list of participants at the Geneva 2 Conference, as it is being commonly called, is not yet complete but Iran and Saudi Arabia would “certainly be amongst the possible participants”.

“We are in touch with government and with the opposition. We are asking them to name their delegations as early as possible, hopefully before end of year,” he said. “Because I think it is important that we meet them, speak to them and listen to them; because this conference is really for the Syrians, to come to Geneva to talk to one another, and hopefully start a credible, workable, effective peace process for their country.”

The nearly three-year Syrian civil war has killed more than 100,000 people and displaced about nine million.

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