In a significant humanitarian step, Syria, represented by the National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Hague-based International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). The agreement aims to strengthen national efforts to determine the fate of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who disappeared during over a decade of conflict.
New Database for Syria’s Missing
According to a statement from the NCMP, the memorandum establishes a formal partnership framework with the ICMP to exchange expertise and train national personnel on internationally recognized standards in victim identification, forensic investigations, and data management. The cooperation also includes creating a national database accessible to families in a secure manner, raising awareness about their rights, and providing necessary support.
A Commitment to a Transparent Process
The signing ceremony took place at Leiden University in The Hague, with participation from representatives of the international community and media, and sponsorship from the German Federal Foreign Office. It was overseen by the head of the National Commission for the Missing, Dr. Muhammad Reda al-Jalkh, and the ICMP’s Director-General, Kathryne Bomberger.
Dr. Jalkh stated the commission begun preparing a national plan to document the whereabouts of an estimated 300,000 individuals missing due to conflict, human rights violations, and displacement. He emphasized the need to uncover the fate of all missing persons without discrimination and to uphold families’ rights to truth and justice.
For her part, Bomberger affirmed the ICMP’s commitment to “assisting the Commission and relevant Syrian institutions in establishing a transparent and sustainable process to clarify the fate of the missing,” through technical expertise, training, and capacity-building support.
Search for Syria’s Missing Continues
According to data from the UN Human Rights Commission, over 100,000 Syrians are officially missing due to the war, with at least 97 documented cases of kidnapping since the beginning of this year alone. The conflict has also displaced 6.5 million people internally and forced another 5.6 million to flee abroad, scattering families across countries and complicating the search for missing relatives.
The ICMP maintains a central database of 23,000 missing persons, compiled from the DNA profiles and information provided by about 60,000 family members. Cases continue to increase as more families come forward. The missing include victims of executions, arbitrary detention, kidnappings, and individuals, both combatants and civilians, lost during battles.
A Pivotal Step Forward
The memorandum is widely regarded as a pivotal step toward establishing an effective national mechanism to address the missing persons file, strengthen accountability efforts, and build trust with international partners.
ICMP plays a leading global role in helping governments search for people missing due to conflict, disasters, and human rights violations by providing technical and legal expertise to determine their fate and protect the rights of their families.
