The issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals in Syria is one of the most tragic humanitarian issues and a stain on the conscience of humanity and the international community. It is a non-negotiable issue that precedes any negotiations and paves the way for a credible political process, in accordance with international resolutions, especially the Geneva Statement and UN Resolution 2254. Resolving this issue definitively and decisively is the cornerstone for building trust and affirming the genuine will to move forward toward a comprehensive political solution.

 

Due to the importance and gravity of this issue for Syrians, the Syrian Negotiation Commission, which has been the Syrian negotiating entity since 2016, formed the “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” to prioritize the issue of detainees and the necessity of following up on it, and to find fundamental solutions that satisfy Syrians and end the suffering of hundreds of thousands affected by this tragic issue, leading to accountability and justice for Syrians who have experienced detention or enforced disappearance.

 

The “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” consists of members from various components of the Syrian Negotiation Commission and is chaired by committee member Ms. Alice Mufrej. It also includes:

 

•Experts from civil society.

•Human rights activists from across the Syrian geography.

•Collaboration with Syrian human rights organizations concerned with the issue of detainees.

•Communication with international organizations and experts specializing in international law and human rights.

•Cooperation with international and UN organizations, and working with international decision-makers.

 

The “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” works to ensure the interconnection and integration of Syrian paths from civil society organizations and human rights organizations. It cooperates with local initiatives and victims’ associations, relying on relevant international resolutions under the umbrella of a comprehensive political solution, aiming to achieve the release of detainees and uncover the fate of those forcibly disappeared in Syria. It pays significant attention to the needs and rights of female detainees and what they have suffered from exclusion, discrimination, and sexual violence in general, working from the premise that the priority of the detainees’ issue intersects with all political transition files, such as the safe and neutral environment file, the elections file, and the transitional justice and accountability file.

 

The “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” relies on ongoing consultations with various Syrian organizations and networks to ensure effective participation from all Syrian parties and link it to the international path. It conducts activities on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations, and the Security Council, supports the establishment of the international institution for missing persons, and prepares files related to the issue of detention and enforced disappearance within the technical framework of the constitutional and legislative structure related to it.

 

The decisions of the Security Council and the reports of the Independent International Commission complement what most UN documents and reports have confirmed, such as the Geneva Statement 1 of 2012, the statements of the International Support Group for Syria (Vienna Statements), and the reports of the Security Council and the UN Secretary-General, which serve as references for the “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee.” Most of these documents describe what is happening in Syria as war crimes and crimes against humanity, with the strongest expressions of condemnation.

 

The “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” believes that although the Syrian regime bears primary responsibility for the issue of detention and enforced disappearance and the serious crimes associated with it, any comprehensive solution to the issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals must address violations of detention and enforced disappearance by all parties to the conflict to ensure sustainable peace.

 

Background:

According to reports from local and international human rights organizations, the number of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals since the start of the revolution in 2011 is estimated at over 140,000 Syrians, most of whom remain missing to this day, with arbitrary detention operations leading to enforced disappearance at a rate of 80 percent.

 

Reports from the Independent International Commission document the prevailing practices in Syrian prisons and detention centers run by the Syrian regime and other parties to the conflict, such as isolation, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, sexual violence, gender-based violence used as a weapon of war, killings under torture, and extrajudicial executions.

 

The Syrian regime’s methodology in dealing with the issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals constitutes a violation of international human rights law and a crime against humanity, as a systematic and widespread mechanism. It also represents a violation of international humanitarian law, particularly Article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions, and qualifies as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, especially concerning methods of detention, isolation, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, sexual violence, and killings under torture. Additionally, it constitutes a blatant violation of the Syrian state’s obligations under the treaties it has ratified, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

 

Since 2011 to this day, successive international documents related to the Syrian issue and most relevant Security Council resolutions have called for the immediate release of all detainees and the missing, especially women and children. The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2474/2019 as the first resolution concerning the missing persons due to armed conflicts, which included measures and procedures that must be taken to reveal the fate of the missing in all countries that have undergone or are undergoing armed conflicts. In the Syrian case, the “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” relies on this resolution as it serves as a binding legal and normative reference for all parties and countries.

 

Despite the existence of the Geneva Statement and many UN resolutions, foremost among them Resolution 2254, all of which have emphasized that the release of detainees and the revelation of the fate of the forcibly disappeared is a non-negotiable matter that must occur before any political solution to build trust, no progress has been made on this file. International organizations working in this area, especially the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Commission on Missing Persons, have been unable to access detention centers run by the Syrian regime or contribute to the release of detainees or ascertain the fate of those forcibly disappeared.

 

The “Detainees and Missing Persons Committee” within the Negotiation Commission operates under the firm belief that the political solution according to international resolutions will be implemented sooner or later. Therefore, it does not hesitate to knock on all doors and use all means to find a just solution to the issue of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals before the political solution, as a mandatory prelude to it. A sustainable and lasting solution cannot be reached without a fundamental resolution based on the immediate release of detainees and the revelation of the fate of the forcibly disappeared across Syria.