Seventeen human rights organizations warn of the continuation of enforced disappearances and their impact on the families of victims in the Middle East

Seventeen human rights organizations warn of the continuation of enforced disappearances and their impact on the families of victims in the Middle East

Seventeen human rights organizations and associations from the Middle East and North Africa have warned of the ongoing cases of enforced disappearances in several countries in the region, emphasizing that the consequences of this practice are not limited to the disappeared individuals but also extend to their families, who may spend years searching for information about the fate of their loved ones.

This was stated in a joint statement issued on the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, observed on August 30th each year. The statement was signed by human rights organizations and associations of families of the missing from Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, in addition to Amnesty International.

The organizations stated that some families of the disappeared face harassment and restrictions due to their demands for information about the fate of their relatives, indicating that enforced disappearance, according to international law, is considered a continuous crime as long as the person’s fate or whereabouts remain unknown.

The statement shed light on the situation of the missing and disappeared in several conflict areas, noting the existence of hundreds of cases related to the war in the Gaza Strip, as well as the continuation of disappearances in Yemen, which, according to the organizations, have affected journalists, human rights defenders, and humanitarian workers.

The statement also addressed the issue of the missing in Syria, pointing out that the families of tens of thousands of people who disappeared in recent years are still waiting for information about the fate of their children and relatives, despite the opening of several prisons and detention centers following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in December 2024.

The organizations affirmed that the effects of enforced disappearances are still present in Iraq, Lebanon, and other countries in the region, where the families of the missing continue to demand truth, justice, and information about the fate of their loved ones.

The signatory organizations called on regional governments to conduct independent and impartial investigations into cases of enforced disappearances, disclose the fate of the missing, expedite the search for mass graves, protect evidence, and return the remains of the deceased to their families.

They also demanded the protection of the families of the forcibly disappeared, journalists, human rights defenders, and organizations working on this issue from harassment and arbitrary detention, ensuring the right of families to know the fate of their loved ones, achieve justice, and receive reparations.