Families of missing Syrians urge UN to create institution for the 'disappeared'

Yasmen Almashan, a founding member of the Caesar Families Association, and Fadwa Mahmoud, a co-founder of Families for Freedom, hold photos of their loved ones who disappeared during the Syrian civil war outside the United Nations headquarters in New York City, June 13, 2023. © Jessica Le Masurier

Three Syrians whose family members were forcibly disappeared during the civil war were at the United Nations this week to lobby for the creation of an Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. The UN General Assembly is expected to vote on a resolution calling for the creation of the institution later this month.

More than 100,000 Syrians are estimated to have gone missing during the war, which is now in its 13th year. Families from all parts of the Syrian Arab Republic are struggling to uncover the fates and whereabouts of their missing loved ones. Many of the missing were arbitrarily detained or "disappeared" by the government, others were kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) group or other militants.