 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2025) |
| Abbreviation | SNC |
|---|---|
| Merged into | Syrian caretaker government |
| Formation | 10 December 2015 (9 years ago) (2015-12-10) |
| Dissolved | 12 February 2025 (9 months ago) (2025-02-12) |
| Headquarters | Riyadh |
| Location | |
Region | Syria |
Chairman/president | Bader Jamous |
| Affiliations | Syrian National Coalition Syrian Interim Government |
| Website | snc-sy.org |
TheSyrian Negotiation Commission (SNC;Arabic:هيئة التفاوض السورية), known before 2017 as theHigh Negotiations Committee (الهيئة العليا للمفاوضات) was an umbrella political body which represented the broadest spectrum ofSyrian opposition in the negotiations to end theSyrian civil war. The Syrian Negotiation Commission's mandate was to negotiate with theBa'athist regime within UN-sponsored pathways as part of theSyrian peace process. Its last chairman wasBader Jamous.[1]
In December 2015, various Syrian opposition forces convened Riyadh I Conference in Saudi Arabia. It was attended by around 150 opposition figures and the formation of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) was declared at the end of the conference.[2]
In December 2015, the Security Council issued resolution no.2254[3] which provided for launching formal negotiations between representatives of the Syrian opposition and of the regime in order to reach a durable political settlement and establish a credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governing body, adopting a pathway for the drafting of a new constitution for Syria and holding free elections under UN auspices. The United Nations then officially recognized the HNC as the sole representative of the Syrian opposition in theGeneva peace talks in 2016.[4] Its first leader wasRiyad Farid Hijab, who wasPrime Minister of Syria from June to August 2012. The HNC was then considered to be Syria's main or broadest[4] opposition bloc.[5]
The group's chief negotiator, Mohammed Alloush, a member ofJaish al-Islam, resigned from the HNC in May 2016 because of the lack of progress in the Syrian peace process.[6]
In September 2016, the HNC set out a detailed transition plan for Syria, committing the country to democratic andreligious pluralism. The 25-page document was launched in London[5] and was welcomed by theUnited Kingdom's government.[7]
In January 2017, the HNC announced that it will support theSyrian peace talks in Astana, which began on 23 January.[8]
In February 2017, the HNC chief coordinator Riyad Farid Hijab rejected a statement byStaffan de Mistura that the latter will select delegates for the Syrian opposition inGeneva. He also objected to the participationDemocratic Union Party (PYD) in the Geneva conference.[9]
The HNC, led byNaser al-Hariri, participated in the2017 Geneva peace talks.[10]
In 2017, the HNC was renamed as the Syrian Negotiation Commission when it was expanded to include members from the "Moscow" and "Cairo" groups of the Syrian opposition.[11]
In December 2015, the High Negotiations Committee included 33 committee members from the following political and military opposition organizations:
The SNC comprised 37 members representing six components[16]
The SNC launched the Executive Framework for a Political Solution in Syria.[17] It held that a political solution must be based on Geneva Communique[18]
and UNSCRs 2118[19] and 2254[20] which provide for the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers.
The SNC then took part in the UN-sponsoredGeneva III andGeneva IV negotiations. The SNC also sent an advisory delegation toAstana I negotiations which were held under the auspices of Russia and Türkiye as guarantors.
In February 2017, the fourth round of Geneva negotiations were held and the UN Special Envoy to Syria presented four baskets to negotiate,[21] namely:
In November 2017, the SNC held Riyadh II Conference[22] in which it discussed expanding the SNC to broaden representation and involve more national figures in the SNC particularly from inside Syria and increasing women representation.
The SNC asserted that its mandate was to negotiate with the regime to realize a democratic political transition through the establishment of a transitional governing body capable of preparing a safe and neutral environment within which the transitional process proceeds in accordance with international resolutions.
In September 2019, the UN Secretary General announced the establishment of theSyrian Constitutional Committee. The Large Body of the Constitutional Committee comprised 150 members divided equally on the three parties: the SNC, theBa'athist regime and civil society.
Geneva II Conference for Peace in Syria (or simply Geneva II) was a UN-backed international conference held in Geneva with the aim of ending theconflict in Syria, by bringing together the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition.
Syrian peace talks in Geneva, also known as Geneva III, were peace negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva under the auspices of the UN and the Vienna peace talks group on Syria and the UN Security Council.
The Geneva IV peace talks on Syria were peace negotiations between the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition under the auspices of the United Nations.
The last round of Geneva talks, also known as Geneva VIII, was held in November 2017 and was concluded on 15 December when then UN Special Envoy to Syria, Staffan De Mistura, declared that “negotiations, in reality, in the end, did not take place”[23]
On February 12, 2025, two months after thefall of the Assad regime, the Commission's presidentBader Jamous met new Syrian presidentAhmed al-Sharaa, together withHadi al-Bahra, president of theSyrian National Coalition. It was agreed that the Negotiation Commission and the National Coalition would both dissolve within the new Syrian authorities.[24]
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