Informal meeting of the plenary to hear a briefing by the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic - General Assembly, 80th session

Good afternoon. Please take your seats. I call to order the informal meeting of the Plenary to hear a briefing by the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. As announced in my letter dated July 13th, 2026, this briefing is held pursuant to Resolution 80/224 entitled Situation of Human Rights in the Syrian Arab Republic, which requests an informal briefing from the head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. I welcome Ms. Carla Quintana, head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, and her team. Thank you for joining us today. I will now make a statement as the President of the General Assembly. Assistant Secretary-General Quintana, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, I begin by commending the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, an institution established by this Assembly through Resolution 77/301, not only in recognition that the search for the missing is a core cornerstone of transitional justice, inseparable from truth, accountability, and reconciliation, and whose work became ever more important with each passing month since the fall of the Assad dictatorship in December 2024. Because for families missing a loved one, the horror did not end in December 2024. Almost every family in Syria has a loved one— perhaps a daughter or a son, a sister or brother, an uncle, a parent, or a spouse— whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown. The missing are still missing. Without answers, the effects of the conflict will continue to haunt their daily lives and undermine peace. It is precisely to help to provide those answers that the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic was given a mandate as clear as it is vital: to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in Syria, and to provide adequate support to their families, who should not be treated as passive recipients of information, but as active participants who can contribute what they know and serve as partners in the search for their loved ones. And sometimes we forget about uniqueness of this place. This is especially here, because this is one of the institutions which was founded not only by you, by the member states, but also by the missing families itself. I therefore encourage the Syrian authorities to embrace this cooperation fully for what it is: support for the Syrian people through an institution established not only by the international community and this Assembly, but also uniquely through the sustained advocacy and involvement of Syrian families. The delay in responding to the institution's request to establish an office in Damascus, which has remained outstanding for more than a year since May 2025, frankly speaking, carries a human cost. Every month without answers deepens the anguish of families. Rotational presence cannot substitute for a permanent one. Families cannot be left waiting because cooperation has stalled. Indeed, calls for cooperation and offers of assistance from the United Nations should not be regarded as an attack. Any country emerging from years of conflict will face immense demands on limited resources: rebuilding schools and hospitals, restoring public services, strengthening institutions, and meeting the immediate needs of its people. The United Nations was exactly built for these moments, to support member states. I know it from the experience of my own country. We could have never done it alone. The United Nations can bring valuable expertise, capacity, and resources to support these efforts. And when it comes to finding missing persons, the scale and complexities of the task require a collective effort involving the United Nations, other international organizations, national authorities, civil societies, and families. The independent institution has made important progress in laying the foundations for such cooperation. It has prioritized engagement with relevant partners, including United Nations entities, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Commission on Missing Persons, and national authorities. This includes its cooperation with the Syrian National Commission on Missing Persons, which depends in turn on the full engagement of the Syrian government, whose partnership is indispensable to a nationally-led search. This cooperation between national and international experts is an asset and should be recognized as such. As several governments have highlighted, in countries including Mexico, Colombia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Argentina, and many, many more, the search for missing persons has often taken years, sometimes decades. Yet progress has been possible Most of the times only through sustained national commitment and international expertise and the patient examination of records, testimonies, and forensic evidence. Especially forensic expertise in particular is one of the distinct benefits that international support, including through the Independent Institution, can provide. Seeking such support and expertise is therefore an asset. It is a proactive and responsible step by any government committed to transitional justice and to securing the cooperation that its task requires. What families in Syria need, as I have heard very, very often also from families themselves, is not another workshop here in New York or in Geneva or somewhere else, but action on the ground where they live. No single institution possesses every record, every testimony, or every piece of evidence needed to establish what happened to all those who remain missing. Information held by different actors can serve families only if it's shared and used through coordinated, complementary efforts drawing on specialized resources, including forensic expertise. And this is why I call on all member states, on you, to support, among others, the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, the National Commission, and all relevant actors engaged in the search. Moreover, this is why I call on the Syrian authorities to honour their promises not only to the international community, but above all to the people of Syria, and to ensure that the end of the Assad dictatorship becomes a moment of relief for all one day, including the families of the missing who are still asking a direct and deeply human question: What happened to our loved ones? They deserve answers, and they deserve our common sustained attention, cooperation, and support. I thank you. As indicated in the journal, there's no pre-established list of speakers for this meeting. Delegations wishing to take the floor are invited to press their microphone button. I wish to remind delegations that, as announced in my letters dated January 6th and July 13th, speaking time during this informal meeting shall be limited to 3 minutes for delegations speaking in their national capacity and 5 minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of states. Delegations speaking on behalf of groups are invited to approach the list of speakers table and will be given priority. To assist delegations in managing their time, a countdown clock will be displayed on the screen. Please be advised that these time limits will be strictly enforced, including through the use of an automatic microphone cutoff when the allotted time has expired. I thank you for your cooperation. And now I have the honor to invite Ms. Carla Quintana, Head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, to brief the membership.

Thank you, Madam President. Excellencies, the Syrian delegation, to the families of the missing in Syria. 19 months ago, Syria entered a new chapter in its history. The historic morning of December 8th, 2024, 6:18 Damascus time, opened a new path towards hope after more than 5 decades of fear, arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearance. Yet hope was accompanied by the daunting reality of a country whose cities lay in ruins, whose families had been torn apart, and whose institutions had been hollowed out. Syria was, in many ways, a nation suspended in time. Among the many challenges confronting Syria today, few are as profound. And as consequential as the fate of its missing. When one person is missing from a family, the pain takes root in each of its members. When hundreds of thousands are missing from a society, pain and collective uncertainty consume it as a whole. It's impossible to envisage stabilization, reconciliation, and lasting peace in Syria without knowing the fate of the missing.

Syria is a country of refugees.

Several member states know well the magnitude of this challenge, as well as the time that it requires. Thanks to the perseverance of the families of the missing, the tireless efforts of Syrian civil society, and the decision of this General Assembly to establish the Independent Institution of Missing Persons, Syrians do not have to face this challenge alone. Madam President, Our mandate is very ambitious. It is to clarify the fate and whereabouts of everyone missing in Syria and to support their families. This cannot be achieved through isolated investigations. It requires building a comprehensive system that allows information to be gathered, analyzed, shared, and transformed into answers. Over the past year, we have started to provide families with information about their loved ones while building systems that will enable us to provide many more answers in the future. We have processed more than 75,000 documents, over 9 times more than during the previous reporting period, while integrating large datasets and strengthening analytical tools that connect information across thousands of cases and further consolidate our pattern-based approach. We have also expanded our work on persons forcibly disappeared under the former regime, missing children, disappearances linked to Daesh and other armed groups, persons gone missing during their migratory journey, and disappearances reported since December 2024. We have also gradually begun registering missing persons outside Syria. Firmly believing that information sharing is both essential to the search and one of its greatest challenges, we have offered access to our systems and information to international actors and to the Syrian authorities. We have also made clear to our Syrian partners our commitment to jointly build the foundations of a comprehensive information-sharing system on missing persons in Syria based on international standards. If we succeed together, we will not only increase the possibility of clarifying the fate and whereabouts of the missing in Syria, but also set an example worldwide. Madam President, The Independent Institution is unique. It exists because of the families, it works for the families, and it implements its mandate with the families. Supporting them is the second pillar of our mandate. The challenge of reaching hundreds of thousands of families inside and outside Syria and managing expectations is immense. This year, we expanded our direct engagement with families on the ground, including many who had never been contacted before. We have worked with the Syrian diaspora in Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, and Germany, to whose governments and civil society we extend our sincere thanks for their support. In Syria, although we have had some meetings with families and others have reached out to us, we have not yet been able to engage with them outside Damascus. We have strengthened referral pathways for legal, psychosocial, and other support And deepen the participation of families and Syrian civil society through our advisory board and other participatory mechanisms. Excellencies, the existence of a national search mechanism is essential in a country confronting disappearances at the scale of Syria. Since the outset, we have proposed and prioritized both concrete and strategic steps to provide sustainable and systematic support to the National Commission of Missing Persons. In concrete steps, we agreed on several joint projects where we have offered, for instance, tools for the mapping of hundreds of mass graves, information on concrete missing migrant cases, input for the necessary legal framework on missing persons, and establishing the basis for an information sharing system. On the more systematic support, we have offered our experience in building public policies for the missing, Strengthening and training staff, and building infrastructure. Building an integrated response to a missing persons crisis of this magnitude takes years, decades even. It requires institutional capacity, adequate methodologies, trust, sustainable funding, and robust information systems. It also requires that all relevant national institutions, support the search. Several member states have experienced this firsthand. We therefore have an ethical obligation to place the Independent Institution's comparative experience and expertise at the service of Syria. That is what the families of the missing demand, and that's what they deserve. As the Secretary-General noted in his report, establishing a permanent presence for the Independent Institution in Syria would significantly strengthen our ability to support our Syrian counterparts and effectively implement our mandate to look for everyone. I therefore reiterate our request made more than a year ago, May 2025, for authorization to establish an office in Syria in the best interests of the missing and their families. Madam President, distinguished delegates, Syria has one of the highest numbers of missing persons in the world, both in absolute terms and relative to its population. Every Syrian family has a missing or knows someone that does. This is an open wound. Hundreds of thousands of families are waiting for concrete answers. Those answers can only be built with information flow scientific methodologies directed at finding the missing, political will at all levels, and trust. The search for the missing is a collective endeavor. No institution can do this alone. Progress depends on the willingness of all those involved to work in a coordinated and complementary manner and share responsibility at the service of the missing and their families. The independent institution will remain firm on this path, working alongside Syrian families and civil society, the National Commission, and other Syrian institutions, relevant international partners, and of course, member states. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone— individuals, CSOs, families— who has entrusted us with information, the core of the search. Thank you as well to the many Member States where Syrians have gone missing while fleeing and who today support us in clarifying their fate and whereabouts. I also wish to express my appreciation to Member States that have supported our work through voluntary contributions, in particular Germany, Canada, Sweden, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Malta. Finally, allow me a special thought for the women of Syria. As in so many countries affected by disappearances, women often bear the burden of searching for missing loved ones while supporting their families and refusing to abandon hope. To them, who make the impossible possible, I offer my deepest recognition, respect, and admiration.

You are not alone. We are working together.

Together until we know the truth. 19 months ago, into Syria's new reality, we have taken important first steps. Much remains to be done. Hope must balance with facts, intentions with results. Thank you. Shukran.

Gracias.

Thank you. I thank Ms. Ghentana for her report and also for her and her team work. I now open the floor for comments or questions. Delegations wishing to take the floor are invited to press their microphone button. As indicated earlier, delegations are requested to limit their statements to 3 minutes when speaking in national capacity and 5 minutes when speaking on behalf of a group. To assist delegations in managing their time, a countdown clock will be displayed on the screen and the microphone will blink 30 seconds before cutoff. I thank you for your cooperation. As the first speaker, I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Syrian Arab Republic, followed by the European Union and Ukraine.

Shukran, Saida Raïs.

Thank you, Madam President. I would like to begin by thanking Ms. Carla Quintana on her briefing and her continued constructive engagement in this important file. And we reaffirm from this podium our support for the role she undertakes in the exercise of her mandate in coordination with the National Committee for the Missing. Excellencies, Syria has witnessed in the past decade one of the darkest chapters of its history. Heinous crimes that shamed humanity were committed by the criminal Assad regime, with enforced disappearance becoming a daily, unending suffering for the entire Syrian people. This called the international community to establish the IIIP in Syria, which we greatly appreciate and respect for the role it played following the establishment of the institution. Today, and we thank God for this, Syria has changed. Syria has become the one that searches for the missing, not the one that causes them to be missing. A Syria seeking justice, not burying it. Syria that is proud of the steadfastness of the families and facilitates their presence, as we have done over the last couple of days, and where they are at the heart of policymaking. This requires complementarity and harmony between the work of the National Commission and the independent institution. And as the countries mentioned yesterday, and as you mentioned today, We must rely on Syria's sovereignty and on the national ownership, and we must address it as one of, of a national priority which we proudly undertake as a responsibility. As for the promise that you mentioned, the National Commission for the Missing has made significant progress. It is currently working on drafting a comprehensive national law on missing persons in partnership with families of the missing, victims' associations, and civil society organizations. They have also opened offices across, across various governorates to provide support to families of the missing and entering data into an electronic platform that will be launched soon, alongside providing legal and psychological support services and conducting field visits to reach families where they are and responding to more than 170 mass graves. In conclusion, We reiterate that the missing persons file is not a political file. It is a humanitarian, moral, and legal obligation that requires close cooperation between Syrian authorities and international partners, including the independent institution, in order to build local capacities, equip national laboratories, and transfer all relevant data to Syrian authorities in a safe and reliable manner. Thank you, Madam President.

I thank the distinguished representative of Syria. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the European Union.

Thank you, Madam President. I have the honor to speak on behalf of the European Union and its 27 member states. The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Georgia And the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as Armenia, Andorra, and San Marino aligned themselves with this statement. We thank the Secretary-General for his report of the activities of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria and Ms. Quintana for her excellent briefing. We express our full support for the important mandate of the IIMP. We appreciate its victim-centered approach and the active role of the concerned family and civil society in its work. This was an integral part of the design of the IIMP and is reassuring to see that the families remain at the core of the institution's efforts. The IIMP aims to bring clarity about the fate and whereabouts of the missing and ultimately solace to their families, which is crucial for broader transitional justice in Syria through a Syria-led process supported by the international community. We express our appreciation for the efforts of the Syrian Transitional Government and the progress made by the National Commission for Missing Persons in setting up national structures to advance the search for the missing. We encourage the Syrian Transitional Government to further deepen their cooperation with the IIMP, including through the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding, the establishment of an IIMP office in Syria, and increased engagement between the IIMP and the National Commission. It is crucial that ongoing strands of work are framed as complementary and not competitive. In keeping with the Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in Syria, as adopted by the General Assembly in December 2025, We use this opportunity to call on all relevant actors to work together and to cooperate with the IAMP in an efficient manner. Bridging existing gaps, allowing for unimpeded communication and the sharing of information, are decisive to effective search efforts. A thorough and inclusive process remains important, especially considering the concerning continued cases of disappearances in various parts of the country. We hope that the newly formed Syrian People's Assembly will take up its work immediately and play an important role in advancing transitional justice and in establishing the necessary legal framework to move this issue forward. The European Union continues to stand with the families of those missing and to support the Syrian people in their journey towards sustainable peace, stability, and justice, and in reconstructing the Syrian economy and infrastructure. In November 2025, the EU, together with Syrian civil society and the Syrian transitional authorities, organized the first-ever Day of Dialogue in Syria, bringing together more than 300 representatives to discuss how to best support the ongoing transition. We intend to convene a second day of dialogue later this year. We will also continue the provision of support to transitional justice and accountability mechanisms, which will be key for national reconciliation and for building a peaceful, stable, inclusive, and democratic Syria. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of the European Union. I now give the I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Ukraine, followed by Germany and Estonia.

Thank you, Madam President. Ukraine aligns itself with the statement just delivered by the European Union and wishes to add the following. We thank Ms. Carla Quintana for her update on the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. At this critical juncture for Syria, the institution continues to play an important role in addressing the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and supporting victims, survivors, and their families. The issue has deep resonance for Ukraine. We continue to search for thousands of our citizens who have been forcibly disappeared unlawfully deported, or remain missing as a result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine since 2014. We therefore understand all too well the anguish of not knowing and the importance of a credible and effective mechanism for establishing the truth and advancing justice and accountability. Ukraine firmly supports all efforts aimed at establishing the truth about missing persons in Syria, preserving relevant information and evidence, and ensuring adequate support for victims, survivors, and their families. Their rights and dignity must remain at the center of all efforts, while accountability for serious violations of international law is essential for achieving justice and reconciliation. We recognize the important role of Syria's National Commission for Missing Persons and encourage continued cooperation between national institutions, IIIMP, and other relevant United Nations mechanisms. Complementary efforts based on a victim-centered approach and the full, equal, and meaningful participation of victims, survivors, and their families are crucial to advancing truth, justice, and accountability. Distinguished delegates, Ukraine reaffirms its unwavering support for the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Syrian Arab Republic. We support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned inclusive political transition that upholds human rights and fundamental freedoms, ensures accountability, and contributes to a peaceful, stable, and dignified future for all Syrians. We stand in solidarity with all families of missing persons in Syria and remain committed to supporting efforts to uphold their right to truth and justice. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Ukraine. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Germany.

Thank you, Madam President. Germany aligns itself with the statement of the European Union. We thank the Secretary-General for his report and Ms. Quintana for her insightful briefing and dedicated work as head of the IIIP. The whereabouts and fate of up to 200,000 persons in Syria remain unknown. Resolving these cases is a central element of the country's transition. Germany welcomes the Syrian government's engagement in this arduous search in particular through the National Commission. Germany recognizes the WIMP's crucial role in supporting the nationally-led process. We commend its strong delivery on its mandate, notably establishing working relationships with key stakeholders to ensure coordination, deconfliction, and deduplication, transparent information processing, developing referral pathways and trauma-informed support policies for Syrians everywhere, and enhancing the participation of families and civil society in the process. The successful search for the missing requires a comprehensive strategy supported by specialized technical expertise, international cooperation, and the participation in particular of the families. In this context, we wish to make 3 recommendations. First, we encourage the Double IMP to continue sharing its expertise and resources with the National Commission, while we call on the Commission and the Syrian government to make full use thereof and to enable the IMP to maximize its effectiveness. This includes granting full access by establishing an IMP field office and concluding an MOU. Second, Germany encourages all relevant actors, nationally and internationally, to share information so that families can learn the fate of their loved ones as soon as possible. Such cooperation should rest on transparent agreements and reflect international best practices on data protection. Third, we call for an inclusive process that addresses all cases of missing persons, regardless of the victim's or perpetrator's identity. Survivors, victims, and their families must be at the center of this process, with the opportunity to participate meaningfully and receive the support they need. Germany reaffirms its commitment to the IMP as an important actor in Syria's transition. For 2026, we have contributed €1 million to the IMP Trust Fund. We urge Member States to support the IMP, whether politically, technically, or financially, to ensure it can fully implement its mandate. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Germany. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Estonia, followed by

Thank you, Madam President.

Excellencies, Estonia aligns itself with the statement of the European Union. We thank the Secretary-General for the report and the head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, Ms. Carla Quintana, for her briefing. Estonia commends the efforts of the Independent Institution to provide support to victims and survivors, including through systematic engagement and conducting travels to meet the families of those missing. Thank you, Estonia. We believe that the approach to put the victims and survivors at the centre of the engagement is the only right way. As the report states, active participation of the families is essential in the search for the missing. In this regard, we welcome the establishing of the advisory board in September 2025, which includes representatives of victims and survivors and families. We further commend the active engagement of civil society organisations, which has been described as the driving force of progress across all areas of the institution's mandate. We welcome the engagement of Syrian civil society in the Advisory Board, as well as the cooperation with women's organisations that have contributed with their specific expertise and knowledge. Estonia applauds the work on a tailored gender strategy, Gender-responsive approach is crucial for understanding and addressing the distinct needs of men and women, and ensuring that they are reflected in the institution's work. Estonia strongly supports the Syrian-led and Syrian-owned process led by the National Commission for Missing Persons. We highlight the importance of strong cooperation with international partners, including the independent institution. that supports and complements the national efforts. We encourage the Syrian authorities to give the Independent Institution an authorization for a permanent presence in Syria that would allow them to implement their mandate in full and make more rapid progress towards the common goal to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in Syria. Estonia reaffirms its full support to the mandate of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Estonia. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of France.

Madam President, I thank Ms. Quintana for her briefing and for her steadfast commitment— and for the steadfast commitment of the independent institution to serve families of Syrians and missing Syrians. As was underscored by the French President during his recent visit to Damascus, the support The commitment of France to the Syrian people in its aspiration to justice and a peaceful and inclusive transition is ironclad. There will be no lasting peace without casting light on the fate of all missing persons in the country, nor without supporting their loved ones in their quest for truth. The independent institution is to support Syrians on that path. I want to focus on 2 points while endorsing the statement of the EU. First, we support the efforts of the Syrian Disappearances that took place since the fall of the regime. We welcome the many visits to Syria of the independent institution in the last few months and the support they've provided to the Syrian authorities together with the ICRC. We welcome the progress made by the institution in terms of analyzing data, the first results of its research, in particular the identification of, of children placed in orphanages and the map of burial sites, as well as the information that it was able to communicate to several families of missing persons. Second, we call upon the Syrian authorities to step up their cooperation with the independent institution and all of the member states to support its work on the road toward a state under the rule of law. The established expertise of the United Nations is crucial. We encourage the Syrian authorities to allow for the independent institution to be established in the country to support the work on disappearances as close as possible to the ground. The GA has already made a decision to that end in its resolution last December on the situation of human rights in Syria. We encourage Syria as well to consider adhering to the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. And finally, President, I would like to hail the immense courage of Syrian civil society stakeholders who, through their testimony and mobilization, have contributed to the work of the independent institution Placing victims and their families in the forefront of their work.

The distinguished representative of France, I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Türkiye, followed by the United Kingdom and Luxembourg.

Thank you, Madam President. We thank you for convening this informal meeting of the General Assembly pursuant to Resolution 80/224. We appreciate the briefing delivered by Ms. Carla Quantina, Head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, and thank her for her efforts on this profoundly important issue. Madam President, the plight of missing persons remains one of the gravest humanitarian legacies of the Syrian conflict. In this regard, we welcome the commitment demonstrated by the Syrian government to advance transitional justice. The judicial proceedings against those responsible for human rights violations committed under the former regime represent an important step toward accountability and the restoration of public trust. We also appreciate the establishment and work of the National Commissions for Transitional Justice and for Missing Persons. The IIMP makes a valuable contribution to these efforts. Their engagement should continue in close coordination with the Syrian authorities and in a manner that supports nationally identified priorities. Madam President, a sustainable and peaceful future for Syria requires not only reconstruction and economic recovery, but also a comprehensive process that promotes accountability, reconciliation, and public confidence. Addressing the issue of missing persons is an indispensable element of that process. We remain convinced that lasting progress in this area can only be achieved through a process that is Syrian-led and Syrian-owned. We call on the international community to remain engaged in strengthening Syria's national capacities, while ensuring that assistance responds to the country's own needs and supports Syrian-led initiatives. Turkey will continue to support initiatives that help clarify the fate of missing persons, provide answers to their families, and advance justice and reconciliation in Syria. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Turkey. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom.

Thank you, Madam President, and thank you, Assistant Secretary-General Quintana, for your briefing today and also for the continued work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. The United Kingdom was proud to support the General Assembly resolution which established the institution in 2023, and its mandate remains as critical now as ever. To clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in Syria, and to provide support to survivors and families who have waited far too long for answers. The United Kingdom welcomes the steps taken over the past year to place the missing persons file at the heart of Syria's transition, including, as we have heard very clearly today from the Syrian Permanent Representative. We welcome the establishment and the growing work of the Syrian National Commission on Missing missing persons, including its plans to develop reporting mechanisms, provide support to families, and technical capacity. These are all important foundations which must be matched by independence, transparency, and the full meaningful participation of families, survivors, and civil society, including women-led organizations. We commend the IIIP for the progress it has made in moving from establishment towards delivery, or as you said today, SG Quintana, from intentions to results. We urge continued engagement with Syrian partners, civil society, and families, and we welcome the establishment of its advisory board. It is vital, of course, that this work is aligned with Syrian-led efforts while preserving the IIIP's independent, humanitarian, and victim-centered mandate. And that engagement and alignment goes both ways. The UK encourages the Syrian government to continue deepening cooperation with the IIIP, including by enabling access to relevant sites, records, and material, and by supporting safe, sensitive, and rights-compliant engagement with families and facilitating an in-country presence. Colleagues, the scale of the task remains immense. More than a decade of arbitrary detention and forced disappearance conflict and displacement has left families across Syria still searching for the truth. Recent reports of abductions and enforced disappearances underline that this is not only a legacy issue but a continuing protection and human rights challenge. The fate and whereabouts of all missing persons before and after December 24th must be clarified. Ultimately, addressing the issue of the missing is essential to reconciliation, accountability, and a durable peace in Syria. The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting victims, survivors, and their families, and to working with Syrians and international partners to help build a more stable, inclusive, and prosperous future. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of the United Kingdom. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Luxembourg, followed by Liechtenstein and Croatia.

Madam President, Luxembourg aligns itself with the statement of the European Union, and we would like to add these remarks in our national capacity. I thank Ms. Carla Cantina for her briefing on the progress made under her leadership by the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria. Luxembourg had the honor to lead the group of countries which initiated Resolution 77/301 that was adopted by the General Assembly in June 2023 to establish the independent institution. Madam Quintina, we extend to you our sincere gratitude for your exemplary leadership in terms of how you've been implementing with your team the mandate of the institution, which is to shed light on the fate and whereabouts of missing persons in Syria. and provide appropriate support to victims, survivors, and families of missing persons. This in close cooperation and working together with all relevant stakeholders. That mandate remains fully relevant. Hence, Luxembourg will continue to support the institution politically and financially. We welcome the close cooperation that the institution has developed with the families of missing persons and also with the Syrian transitional authorities and with the Syrian National Commission for Missing Persons, as well as other stakeholders involved on the ground. Cooperation among all stakeholders is indeed crucial in the context of the Syrian transition following decades of oppression and violence, which, as you recalled, have struck every family in Syria. Disappearances, unfortunately, are not only a thing of the past. They are still happening. It is therefore necessary to strengthen common efforts which are led by Syrians and supported by the international community. In the current phase, the expertise of the independent institution is vital and must be fully brought to bear. We encourage the Syrian authorities to authorize the institution to establish a presence in Syria. This will allow it to shoulder its mandate and to contribute more effectively to building national capacity. Madam Cantina, as the Secretary-General did in his report, we also welcome the efforts of the institution to leverage digital technologies which make its work to serve families more effective. In that context, I would like to ask if you could provide us with some precise information about the modalities envisioned to share information between your institution and the Syrian National Commission for missing persons so as to improve coordination. I wish you every success as you continue your mandate, and you may count on the ongoing support of Luxembourg. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Luxembourg. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Liechtenstein.

Thank you, Madam President.

We would like to thank ASG Quintana for the comprehensive briefing. Liechtenstein fully supports the AIMP. And commends the progress made since its creation 3 years ago, and especially since the fall of the Assad regime. A peaceful, inclusive, and democratic future for Syria can only be achieved by ensuring accountability for the crimes perpetrated against the Syrian people. Determining the fate of the people who have gone missing is integral of this process. We welcome the institution's efforts to enter into cooperation agreements with Syrian civil society organizations as well as the continued active engagement with concerned families in line with its victim-centered approach. Liechtenstein commends the establishment of the Syrian National Commission for the Missing and its efforts undertaken to clarify the fate of the missing persons and help Syrians to turn the page on the past. We also continue to encourage close cooperation between the Syrian Transitional Government, including its National Commission, and the IIIMP for the sake of an effective and inclusive search effort. Together with all other relevant stakeholders. A permanent field-based presence is not only essential for fulfilling the IIIP's humanitarian mandate, but also to ensure a more effective operation of the mechanism in complementarity with Syrian-led and Syrian-owned operations. The focus on hiring and training Syrians, including building forensic capacity, is critical in this regard. Rest assured that you can count on Liechtenstein's continued support to the IIIP's vital work on behalf of the families of the missing.

Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Liechtenstein. I now give the word to the distinguished representative of Croatia, followed by Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Thank you, Madam President. Croatia aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union. We thank Ms. Quintana for the comprehensive briefing and for her unwavering commitment as head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. We also express our appreciation to her team for the important work they are undertaking on behalf of the families of the missing. The latest report shows encouraging progress in building a comprehensive process to clarify the fate of missing persons and support their families. The advancing cooperation of the institution with relevant actors, including the National Commission for Missing Persons and other Syrian authorities, represent an important development in strengthening Syrian-led and Syrian-owned efforts, and we hope the inclusive process continues with a shared goal of delivering tangible results. We welcome the progress made by the institution in collecting and analyzing data through active engagement with families, civil society organizations, and international actors. For Croatia, a country still searching more than 3 decades after the aggression for 1,700 25 missing persons, this issue remains a humanitarian priority. Experience has taught us that truth and justice pave the way to reconciliation, healing, and lasting peace. Achieving this through the search for the missing requires sustained political commitment, institutional independence and cooperation, with the dignity of the missing and their families central to all such efforts. For this reason, we strongly support the mandate of the institution and encourage all relevant actors to cooperate fully by facilitating access to information, archives, witnesses, and sites that may help establish the fate and whereabouts of missing persons. As current co-chair of the Global Alliance for the Missing, Croatia is committed to promoting the exchange of expertise and good practices, advancing international cooperation, and strengthening global efforts to address the issue of missing persons in situations of armed conflict and other humanitarian crises. We firmly believe the international community has a shared responsibility to support this cause, and we reaffirm Croatia's readiness to contribute by sharing its own experience in support of the Syrian people and the work of the independent institution. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Croatia. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Japan.

Thank you, Madam President. I thank Madam Quintana, Head of WIMP, for her valuable briefing, and extend our appreciation to her and her team for their tireless work. Addressing missing persons in Syria remains a critical humanitarian issue, as many Syrians continue to suffer from the uncertainty around the fate or whereabouts of their missing loved ones. Japan wholeheartedly supports those seeking answers and underscores the importance of the international community continuing to support victims and their families. Madam President, recent developments in Syria have created new opportunities to clarify the fate and whereabouts of missing persons. Making the work of WIMP increasingly important, Japan welcomes its effort to support Syrian-led and Syrian-owned initiatives and its continued cooperation with the relevant Syrian authorities, including the National Commission for Missing Persons, and the launch of the joint work plan. We also commend its. Growing cooperation with ICRC, family associations, and civil society organizations toward effective implementation of its mandate. Madam President, a victim-centered approach must remain at the heart of these efforts, placing the rights, dignity, safety, and the needs of victims and their families at the forefront while ensuring their meaningful participation. This principle is central to the work of the WIMP, and we hope it will also guide the National Commission for Missing Persons in Syria. Japan stands in solidarity with the people of Syria and remains committed to supporting efforts to uphold the dignity and rights of victims and their families, including their rights to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing loved ones. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Japan. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the Republic of Korea, followed by Denmark and the United States.

Thank you, Madam President. I thank you for convening this meeting, and I thank Señora Quintana for her briefing and for the work she and her team carry out. 3 years ago, this Assembly created the Independent Institution on Missing Persons. Resolution 77/301 gave it a humanitarian mandate to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the missing and to stand by their families. The mandate belongs to this body, and so does the responsibility to see it carried out. Madam President, this is not a search for blame. It is a search for answers. Where is my son, my sister, and my father? For hundreds of thousands of Syrian families, no other question comes before it. And no reconstruction, however ambitious, will be felt as recovery Until it is answered. My own country deeply resonates with that grief. 7 decades after the Korean War, many Korean families have grown old and died without ever learning the fate of their loved ones. From that experience, one conviction stood out: time is the adversary. Witnesses age, records disappear, sites are built over. What is not found now may never be found. Let me offer 3 points. First, urgency. This moment will not remain open indefinitely. We encourage the Syrian authorities to continue to grant the institution full and unhindered access, and we urge that gravesites, detention records, and archives be secured and preserved. Second, complementarity. The institution, the National Commission for the Missing, the Triple M, IIIM and the Commission of Inquiry each hold a part of this work. No family should have to tell the story 5 times over. Coordination here is not a choice, it is a duty to those families. Third, the families themselves. They searched when the former regime denied there was anything to find. Their associations, many of them led by women, must take part in the search as equals with their data protected And their needs, including psychosocial support, fully met. The Republic of Korea supports this work in practice. Since 2024, our partnership with the ICRC has traced the missing and returned remains to their families, reaching 16,000 people in Syria alone. This support will continue. Madam President, this institution has this assembly's mandate. It must also have our sustained support so that the families of the missing may finally have their answers. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Korea. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Denmark, followed by the United States and Switzerland.

Thank you, PGA. Thank you, Madam President, and profound thanks also to Carla Quintana, the head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, for her briefing. Denmark aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of the European Union. I welcome the opportunity to further focus on the critical work of the IMP following the Area Formula meeting Denmark organized yesterday in cooperation with Colombia, Luxembourg, and Syria. Let me confirm Denmark's strong support for the IMP's mandate in support of a Syrian-led and owned effort to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons and support the victims, survivors, and their families. As highlighted by the report, the IIMP continues to serve a critical function in providing technical assistance and survivor-centered services in close cooperation with families and civil society. The establishment of an advisory board featuring strong independent Syrian voices, including several Syrian women and human rights defenders, is especially welcome. To further facilitate the Mechanism's work, we encourage the Syrian government to grant the IMP permission to establish an in-country presence and to work in close cooperation with the Mechanism to advance the search for the missing in Syria. The path towards national reconciliation, justice, human rights, and a sustainable peace is challenging, but it's the only way to go. Partnerships between national and international actors, especially national civil society actors, can ease this arduous journey. Denmark remains committed to support all such efforts. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Denmark. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of the United States, to be followed by Switzerland and Brazil.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. The United States extends its gratitude to Carla Quintana and the WIMP for their critical work to advance the search for the missing in Syria, including American citizens kidnapped by ISIS and the Assad regime. We are encouraged by your visits to Syria and engagement with the Syrian government, families, and civil society. We hope to see strengthened partnership between the WIMP and the Syrian government to help families get long-deserved answers. To be closer to Syrian partners and Syrian survivors and families it serves, the WIMP should relocate from Geneva to Damascus. Nearly every Syrian family has been personally affected by the widespread and systemic use of detention, torture, and killing under the Assad regime. Families of those missing deserve answers. The United States stands with the Syrian people at this historic moment and strongly supports the Syrian government's efforts to establish peace and prosperity. We call on the Syrian government to address abuses by all parties and to ensure that its national commissions on trans— transitional justice, and missing persons are independent, transparent, and inclusive of victims, survivors, and families. Enduring stability in Syria will depend on clarifying the fate and whereabouts of more than 125,000 missing persons and advancing meaningful justice and accountability for abuses by all parties over the past 14 years. As Secretary Rubio has said, a peaceful, stable Syria will be one of the most dramatic improvements in the region in a very long time, and we want to do everything we can to help achieve that. Thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of the United States. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Switzerland.

Thank you, Mr. President. Switzerland would like to thank Ms. Quintana for her briefing and commend the progress made by the Independent Institution for Missing Persons over the past year. At a critical juncture in the history of Syria, clarifying the fate of missing persons is crucial for lasting peace. The scale of the task is considerable, with Tens of thousands of missing persons and just as many families awaiting answers. The search for missing persons is one of the major challenges in the transitional period. It requires a rigorous and coordinated approach that is focused on the dignity and needs of families while also ensuring their right to the truth. This responsibility is key. The fate of all missing persons in Syria must be clarified without exception. We also now encourage more structured coordination between the National Commission for Missing Persons and the independent institution. The independent institution can provide essential expertise given the number of cases to be processed and is also able to support the commission and strengthen its capacities with certain operational added value. Second, the mandate of the independent institution is essentially humanitarian in nature, and it falls within a broader environment of transitional justice, and it complements the work of dedicated accountability mechanisms. In this regard, Switzerland encourages not only cooperation with the Syrian transitional authorities, but also close coordination between the independent institution, specialized international institutions, and Syrian civil society organizations. Survivors' groups, family associations, and civil society organizations continue to play a vital role. In this regard, they must not be forgotten about, and they must be involved at every stage of the transitional justice process by all stakeholders involved. Switzerland is convinced that dealing with the past is one of the key conditions for solid and lasting peace in Syria. Switzerland will continue to work to that end by supporting the institution through a policy of being an active host state and by encouraging full cooperation and coordination by all actors. Together, it will be possible to provide the answers that so many families are waiting for and to make progress on the— on building a peace that is rooted in rights and dignity. Thank you.

Representative of Switzerland, I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Brazil, followed by Lebanon.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Brazil thanks Ms. Quintana for her update on the work of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons, which captures a decisive period in Syria's history. Back in 2023, Brazil voted in favor of the resolution that established the Independent Institution As a reflection of our longtime commitment to promoting the right to memory and truth, both at the domestic and international levels, with special consideration for the concerns of the families of all missing persons, Brazil stresses that all feasible measures must be taken to clarify the fate and whereabouts of persons reported missing. This must include the dignified recovery, treatment, identification, and return of human remains. Families have the right to know the fate of their loved ones, and their needs, rights, and concerns must remain at the heart of all efforts to address the issue of missing persons in accordance with international law and due process. In this regard, we underscore the importance of effective cooperation and complementarity among the independent institutions the Syrian National Commission on Missing Persons, and other relevant international and national actors. Such coordination is essential to avoid duplication and ensure a comprehensive, victim-centered response. The Syrian authorities must also, must also redouble efforts to ensure accountability and justice for all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. All those responsible for past and current violations and atrocities must be held accountable. At the same time, the international community must continue to support Syria on its path towards a stable, inclusive, peaceful, and human rights-based transition that reflects the aspirations of all components of Syrian society. I thank you.

I thank the distinguished representative of Brazil. I now give the floor to the The distinguished representative of Lebanon.

Mr. President, behind every missing person, there's a loved one, a family. For years, these families have lived suspended between hope and despair— hope that a loved one may still return, and fear that the answer, when it comes, may be the hardest one to bear. It is with them in mind that my delegation speaks today. We thank Ms. Carla Quintana for her briefing. Lebanon recognizes the efforts of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons, which promotes accountability, has advanced a humanitarian and victim-centered approach, engaged families and civil society, and built cooperation with Syrian national institutions. For Lebanon, this question is of utmost importance, one that directly affects our country. Hundreds of Lebanese nationals remain forcibly displaced in Syria, some for decades. Behind that number are families that have lived with an absence that has no end and no explanation. Clarifying the fate of their loved ones stands among the foremost priorities of the Lebanese state. In September 2025, the governments of Lebanon and Syria agreed to establish joint committees on outstanding files, including the missing and forcibly displaced— disappeared. On the Lebanese side, this work is overseen by Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Tarek Mitri. Mr. President, we wish to offer 2 points. First, Lebanon supports efforts that are senior Syrian-owned and nationally led and internationally backed. In this regard, we commend the establishment by the Syrian government of the National Commission for the Missing in May 2025. We call for sustained international assistance to preserve detention records, archives, and grave sites, and to build forensic identification capacity through financing and training. This is work that Lebanon, Syria, and member states must carry out together. Second, relevant materials are scattered across archives, administrative records, and witness testimonies. Lebanon therefore calls for more systematic sharing of information. In conclusion, Mr. President, this wound will not heal until the fate of every missing person is found.

Thank you.

is known. In this critical period, Lebanon stands with the Syrian government and international efforts to build trust between national authorities and the families of the missing, and to advance stability, lasting peace, and justice for all in Syria. I thank you, Mr. President.

I thank the distinguished representative of Lebanon. Now I'd like to give the floor to Ms. Carla Quintana, Head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic, to provide her observations on the interventions made by delegations. You have the floor, ma'am.

Thank you, Mr. President. First, I would like to thank, deeply thank, the European Union, Ukraine, Germany, Estonia, France, Turkey, The UK, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Croatia, Japan, Korea, Denmark, USA, Switzerland, Brazil, and Lebanon for their support to the Independent Institution of Missing Persons, to the staff of the Independent Institution of Missing Persons, but more importantly, to Syria and to Syrian families and everyone missing. in Syria. Allow me to share with you one thought. Comparative experience has shown us that in order for any country, and in this case Syria, to succeed in giving answers to families of the missing, we have to take into consideration 4 elements, and they have to be present at the same time: political will, trust, information, and methodology. We have learned this from the past, from decades of experience from all over the world. Political will, we need it at the national level and at the international level. And this comes, of course, with the recognition of the problem, which Syria has already done, with the creation of a mechanism to look for the missing, which Syria has already done, But it needs as well, it needs budget, it needs all the national institutions, not only the search mechanism to get engaged. We need to work together with justice systems, with health systems, with forensic institutes, with archives. So that's something very important. And from the international point of view, political will comes not only with political engagement but also with sharing of expertise and with financial support. Regarding information, and I would like to thank Luxembourg for the question, the biggest challenge in the world when looking for the missing is to acquire information, to have access to information, to analyze information, and to share that information. That, we all know here, it's a challenge in itself. And we need to put all our efforts to make that happen from all stakeholders involved in the search of the missing, being the international organizations such as us, the national authorities, CSOs, and families. Answering to your question about information and what we have advanced with the government, We have shared with the National Commission of Missing Persons our position paper on how we can share information, what information can we share, and how we can do it. As you had seen in the report, we had also offered the Syrian government to— we offered them our systems and we offered to build an ecosystem where we can start discussing this. If we succeed in this, we are not only going to be— give families in Syria answers, but we are going to be an example worldwide. Third, trust. Trust is built not from one day to another, but it takes time with families, with CSOs, with the international community, and with the national authorities. And lastly, methodology or processes. We have learned from the past what processes have worked in other latitudes, and we are willing to share that knowledge, of course, with the Syrian authorities and Syrian people. Finally, my colleague, Permanent Representative Olavi, yesterday referred to the day, 8th of December, 2024, when every Syrian was joyful, rightfully so, because they were recovering their country. And he also referred of how sad and desperate were many mothers who were waiting for their loved ones to come back. Unfortunately, they are still missing. Most of them are still missing. And that is an important reason for all of us here at the General Assembly, at the independent institution, and with the families and with the Syrian authorities to keep on working together, to cooperate and coordinate, putting— with hands-on on the field alongside the families. I finally want to reiterate our willingness, our conviction, our hearts to the Syrian families and to everyone that is missing in Syria and to work with the Syrian government.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much, Ms. Quintana. At this stage, I'd like to thank delegations for their participation at this briefing. The informal meeting of the Plenary is now concluded. The meeting is adjourned.