Over 130,000 people have been reportedly missing as a result of Syria civil war, and the United Nations General Assembly has accepted a resolution that would create an impartial committee to find out what happened to them.
The 193-member world body accepted the proposal, with 83 votes in favor, 11 against, and 62 abstentions. It has been a significant reaction to petitions from their families and loved ones.
Syria, had vowed not to work with the new agency, and was one of those who opposed the resolution. Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Belarus, Russia, and China all abstained.
The resolution, sponsored by Luxembourg, disclosed that, despite 12 years of warfare in Syria, “little progress has been achieved in alleviating the suffering of families by providing answers as to the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons.”
“To clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons, and to provide adequate support to victims, survivors, and the families of those missing,” the resolution authorized the formation of an Independent Institution of Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic under the auspices of the United Nations.
The motion stated that, the new committee would be governed by the “do no harm” principle, as well as the principle of neutrality, accountability, and origin and information confidentiality, and shall be made up of victims, survivors, and families of the missing.
Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of UN, now has 80 working days to provide the terms of reference for the newly formed agency, and to take action to hastily create and launch it. According to Human Rights Watch, the new agency must have the proper instruments at its disposal to accomplish its job.
“UN member countries should ensure that this new institution has the staff and resources necessary to determine what happened to so many thousands of people who vanished during Syria’s 12 years of conflict. The people of Syria deserve no less.”
Louis Charbonneau, the Group’s UN director.
The Syrian Ambassador to UN, Bassam Sabbagh, has labeled the resolution as “politicized.” He claimed that, the resolution represents a “flagrant interference in our internal affairs,” and adds to the body of proofs, depicting the West’s “hostile approach” to his country.
The Ambassador pleaded with his fellow representatives to vote “no,” claiming that, Syria had dealt with the matters of missing people, handled all abduction reports that were sent to law enforcement, and conducted “independent investigations in accordance with Syrian law and on the basis of available information and resources.”
The 13-year-old rebellion that developed into civil war in Syria, has resulted in the displacement of half of the country’s 23 million residents, and the death of nearly 500,000 people. According to estimates from UN, cited by the International Commission on Missing Persons, the fighting in Syria left over 130,000 Syrians missing in 2021.
According to reports from the UN headquarters in New York, the resolution was significant because so many Arab nations abstained from the voting.
It was notable that, almost all of the Arab nations that were among those who voted against the resolution, were countries that previously backed the Syrian opposition. In actuality, Kuwait and Qatar were the only two Arab nations to approve this. The UN’s current challenge would be getting the Syrian government to cooperate.
However, the Syrian government has not collaborated with any of the existing international bodies investigating missing people, within the 12-year-long civil war.
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