The Independent Institution for Missing Persons in Syria is a United Nations-affiliated body established on June 29, 2023, by a UN General Assembly resolution. It was created in response to the growing demands of families searching for their missing loved ones in Syria. The institution’s mission is to determine the fate of the missing and provide support to families struggling with uncertainty. It operates under a broad humanitarian mandate, covering all missing persons in Syria regardless of nationality, political affiliation, or the circumstances of their disappearance.
The institution is independent of political entities and focuses on ensuring that victims and their families play an active role in the search process. It works closely with survivors, families of the missing, and Syrian civil society organizations, including women’s groups, to ensure a comprehensive and transparent approach.
The institution also collaborates with the Association of Families of Missing Asylum Seekers, with the first meeting between the association’s founding members and institution officials taking place on April 4, 2024. Additionally, the association has participated in meetings organized by the institution, which focused on updates regarding its work.
The Institution’s Role
The institution has two main responsibilities:
- Searching for missing persons
- Providing psychological and legal support to families
1. Searching for Missing Persons
The institution’s primary mission is to uphold the right of victims and their families to know the truth about the fate of missing persons. Its work in this area includes:
- Identifying sources of information about the missing and negotiating data exchanges.
- Developing a secure information system to store and analyze data.
- Registering reported cases while ensuring confidentiality and data protection.
- Analyzing patterns of enforced disappearance to help locate missing persons.
- Coordinating with families and relevant organizations to create a clear and transparent search plan.
2. Psychological and Legal Support for Families
Alongside the search, the institution offers psychological and legal support programs for families, many of whom face legal challenges due to their loved ones’ disappearance. These challenges include difficulties with birth registration, marriage, and inheritance. The institution also works to raise legal awareness among families to protect them from fraud and misinformation during their search.
Planned support programs include:
- Providing mental health and social support to victims and families during the search process.
- Issuing official documents like “certificates of absence” to help families with legal matters.
- Developing a legal and humanitarian referral network to connect families with the services they need.
- Advocating for governments and international organizations to recognize and uphold the rights of families and victims of enforced disappearance.
Funding and Sustainability
The Independent Institution for Missing Persons in Syria is funded through the United Nations’ regular budget, which comes from contributions by UN member states. To ensure its continued work, the institution requires annual approval from the UN General Assembly for its budget.
The institution was established after years of demands by Syrian families, in line with recommendations from the report “They Are Human Beings, Not Numbers”. The report highlighted the urgent need for an independent body to search for missing persons in Syria. It also shed light on the thousands of families living in constant distress and uncertainty due to the disappearance of their loved ones and called for sustained international support to address this humanitarian crisis.
This initiative represents a new hope not only for families inside Syria but also for those who lost loved ones while seeking refuge. The Association of Families of Missing Asylum Seekers continues to document disappearance cases and support families, working in cooperation with all relevant organizations, including the Independent Institution for Missing Persons, to ensure that victims of enforced disappearance are not forgotten and that their families can uncover the truth.
