Statement on the Lebanese Individuals Forcibly Disappeared in Syria
The Assad regime has violated human rights in Syria since the beginning of its rule in 1971, and its crimes in Lebanon date back to the mid-1970s. One of the most prominent aspects of this criminality was the issue of enforced disappearance, or those who were previously known as the "missing persons." Since the early 1990s, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights has documented numerous cases of enforced disappearance involving individuals of various Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, and even some other Arab and foreign nationalities who were abducted in Lebanon and taken to Syria.
Despite the Syrian regime's continuous denial of the existence of detainees, prisoners, or forcibly disappeared individuals in its prisons, more than two hundred Lebanese were released from these prisons in 1998 and 2000. Subsequently, many prisoners were released at sporadic intervals without any explanation or information about them.
Since the early 1990s, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights has been demanding the return of Lebanese individuals forcibly disappeared in Syria. This comes despite the continued negligence of the Lebanese state in acknowledging their existence and working towards their return. The Center has called on the Lebanese government and the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, which was established four years ago, to take immediate and serious action to resolve this issue. However, to date, we have not achieved any results.
In light of the current situation in Syria, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights emphasizes the urgent need to address the issue of enforced disappearance and demands the following:
First, that the Lebanese government immediately open an emergency room at the Lebanese embassy in Damascus to monitor and pursue the status of all Syrian prisons from which detainees are released and communicate with the new authorities to obtain lists of names of Lebanese individuals forcibly disappeared in Syria or any Lebanese who has been arrested or entered into the previous Syrian security system.
Second, that the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared immediately approach Syrian authorities or personally travel to Syria to communicate with the new authorities with the aim of establishing a working mechanism to identify those who are still alive among the disappeared and those who have been released from prison. They should request access to archives and files from Syrian intelligence and security agencies to investigate the fate of hundreds of Lebanese individuals forcibly disappeared in Syrian prisons.
Third, that the International Red Cross, through its office in Syria, communicate with the new Syrian authorities and provide its expertise in the field of enforced disappearance, especially since it possesses the largest database on forcibly disappeared individuals. They should deliver names they have on individuals who may be in Syria and establish a mechanism to verify the identities of those present there.
Finally, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights calls on the new Syrian authorities to open a new chapter and deal transparently and responsibly with the issue of enforced disappearance. This humanitarian issue has affected both Lebanon and Syria alike and requires cooperation to uncover the fate of those forcibly disappeared. We at the Lebanese Center for Human Rights are ready, along with other partners in Syrian and Lebanese human rights organizations that have expertise in cases of enforced disappearance and documenting violations, to assist in establishing a serious mechanism for documenting names of those released from prisons and maintaining files and archives related to detention centers. This aims to identify detainees who have not yet been freed and those who unfortunately died under torture. We possess expertise in cases of enforced disappearance and documenting violations, which we offer in service of this humanitarian cause.
