The National Authority for the Missing in Syria has signed a new memorandum of understanding with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), as part of its efforts to build a sustainable national mechanism to search for the missing and determine their fate.

In a statement published on Facebook, the Authority said the memorandum aims to strengthen technical and professional cooperation within a framework that respects national sovereignty and upholds standards of justice, transparency, and data protection, while ensuring the development of Syrian experts’ capacities in criminal investigations, forensic medicine, genetic analysis, and database management.

According to the Authority, the memorandum includes training its staff in search and investigation methods and identification in line with international standards, developing a centralized national database for the missing, and providing secure access to data previously collected by the ICMP. It also includes organizing joint workshops to strengthen family participation in the process and facilitating regional and international cooperation on unidentified remains and missing migrants.

The National Authority’s media adviser, Zeina Shahla, told Enab Baladi that the memorandum will enter into force immediately and that its provisions will be implemented in parallel, both in terms of benefiting from data held by the ICMP and transferring it to the National Authority for the Missing, and in terms of drawing on the organization’s expertise and experts to train Syrian staff in modern techniques, especially documentation tools and DNA and genetic fingerprinting technologies.

ICMP Director General Kathryne Bomberger said the Commission is committed to assisting the National Authority for the Missing, Syrian institutions, and families of the missing to implement a long-term, effective process to search for the missing by transferring technical expertise, providing training, and supporting an approach rooted in the rule of law.

The National Authority considered the signing of the memorandum “a key step” toward developing a national environment based on international standards, strengthening the principle of accountability, and consolidating cooperation with specialized international partners. It stressed that it will continue its “tireless” work to alleviate the suffering of families and reinforce citizens’ trust in official institutions.

The memorandum was signed on the campus of Leiden University in The Hague, in the presence of students, academics, and representatives of the international community, following discussions held in Damascus at the beginning of November.

The National Authority for the Missing in Syria had announced, on 6 November, the signing of a joint declaration of principles of cooperation with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the International Independent Missing Persons Institution (IIMP).

It said the step aims to support the national process to uncover the fate of all the missing in the country, regardless of the circumstances of their disappearance or their backgrounds.

The declaration came as part of the Authority’s efforts to coordinate with specialized international organizations in a way that avoids duplication and strengthens transparency and effectiveness in this humanitarian file.

Number of the missing in Syria

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) issued its 14th annual report on enforced disappearance in Syria on 30 August, following the evacuation of prisons and security centers belonging to the regime of deposed president Bashar al-Assad.

According to the report, only a limited number of detainees emerged alive, while the fate of tens of thousands remains unknown. The report documents how the former regime has, since 2011, pursued a systematic policy of enforced disappearance targeting opponents and civilians from various areas, using its security and judicial apparatus to entrench a climate of fear and collective punishment.

SNHR’s database indicates that the former Syrian regime is responsible for more than 90 percent of disappearance cases, which are tied to arbitrary arrest, torture, and denial of fair trial guarantees, and have left families of victims facing long-term suffering.

According to updated data compiled after the fall of the regime, the number of victims of enforced disappearance has shifted as some detainees previously classified as missing were released, and as documentation has expanded and evidence has been strengthened.

The report states that no fewer than 181,312 people, including thousands of women and children, remained in arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance as of August 2025, among them 160,123 individuals previously held by former regime agencies, with the rest distributed across detention centers that had belonged to other parties.

First steps by the Authority

The National Authority for the Missing began its first activities in Damascus with a consultative session attended by Enab Baladi on 5 July. The meeting was attended by many relatives of victims, the missing, and those forcibly disappeared, and was moderated by Dr Jalal Noufal, a member of the Authority’s advisory team.

Participants stressed the need for justice to take its course and for those involved in the enforced disappearance of more than 100,000 people during the war in Syria to be held accountable, according to estimates by several organizations working on this issue, most notably the UN independent mechanism on missing persons in Syria.