Syria: How the ICRC can help families find answers in their search for the missing

Since the start of the armed conflict in Syria, the ICRC, together with our Red Cross and Red Crescent partners, has registered 35,000 cases of people who have gone missing in Syria. This number reflects the requests of the families who approached the ICRC - we know that in reality the figures are far greater. Years, even decades, of living in uncertainty have inflicted immense suffering and pain on these families, who still yearn for answers. Addressing the issue of missing people is vital to achieving lasting peace and reconciliation. 

Immediate Concerns

As prisons and other detention centres are opened and detainees released, critical information —such as arrest records, detainee lists, and documentation held by state institutions — is at risk and could be lost or compromised. Known and potential gravesites must also be safeguarded to ensure they can contribute to future efforts to identify and honor the missing.

The ICRC calls on all authorities in Syria to:

• Preserve vital records: Preserve records of arrest, lists of detainees or deceased, hospital records, court records and any other official documentation that can help clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons. 

• Protect gravesites: Prevent the disturbance of, and protect, possible grave sites that may contain the remains of missing persons, and refrain from premature exhumations that cannot be carried out according to forensic standards. 

• Prevent further disappearance: Prevent any further instances of people going missing in the period ahead in full respect with applicable international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights law obligations.