Report

Missing Persons in North East Syria: A Stocktaking

Author
International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP)
Publication Year
2020
Region
Near and Middle East
Location
North-East Syria, Raqqa, Deir Ezzor ; Syria ; Near and Middle East
Thematic Area
The Search Process / Forensics / Families
Topic
Right to Know/Truth / Recovery of remains / Excavation / Exhumation / Information Management (Archive/Database/Register) / Identification / Family Needs / Enforced Disappearance / Burial Site / Mass Grave
Access
Open access

Since the start of uprising and armed conflict in Syria in 2011, more than 100,000 persons have gone missing, the vast majority of whom were forcibly disappeared. In northeast Syria, thousands have gone missing throughout the years of conflict following a tumultuous set of events and changing political and military actors who have taken control of the region.

This assessment focuses mostly on Raqqa and northeast Deir Ezzor and aims to shed light on current efforts to manage human remains and to account for missing persons (section III), the processes related to the recovery, location and identification of mortal remains (section IV), the Syrian legal framework relative to missing and disappeared persons (section V), demographics and circumstances of persons going missing or disappearing (section VI), the situation of families of the missing (section VII), challenges in the location and identification of missing persons (section VIII), and recommendations (section IX).