Families of missing in Syria incur ‘immense challenges’ – Amnesty
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – As war in Syria has persisted for over a decade, leaving tens of thousands of missing and forcibly disappeared people in limbo, Amnesty International stressed on Tuesday that families of these missing “have faced immense challenges.”
As the date for voting on the establishment of a new body tasked with revealing fate of the missing people in Syria is approaching, Amnesty International’s Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, said, “Families of the missing and forcibly disappeared have faced immense challenges in obtaining any information about the fate of their loved ones… the UN can help them find some of the answers they deserve.”
On June 29, a vote on the matter is expected to take place at the UN headquarters in New York.
This “can provide a way to fulfill the families’ right to truth,” according to Callamard.
He stressed that all parties to the conflict have refrained from addressing this issue, resulting in “perpetual agony and uncertainty.”
The Amnesty International’s Secretary-General noted, “At least 100,000 people are believed to be missing or have been forcibly disappeared in Syria since 2011… the hands of the Syrian government’s security apparatus.”
On June 23, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and over 100 Syrian and international organizations urged the UN to vote in favor of the resolution to establish “a humanitarian body,” tasked with this issue.
In August of 2022, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, proposed the issue of establishing an independent institution to bolster efforts to address the thousands of detentions and enforced disappearances committed since 2011 and provide support to the families.