Syria calls for an ‘independent’ body to investigate 100,000 people who disappeared during the conflict

DAMASCUS (AsiaNews) – The United Nations General Assembly has approved the creation of an independent body to shed light on the fate of at least 100,000 people who disappeared during the darkest and most violent years of the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 and is still ongoing. The go-ahead was given to the UN on Thursday despite the contrary vote of the Syrian representative and the abstention of some countries, including Lebanon.

The “collateral” victims. The vote represents a starting point in the search for the truth on a still open wound concerning the fate of people who are often “collateral” victims of the war. Among these there are also some prominent personalities of the Syrian Catholic Church, such as the Jesuit Paolo dall’Oglio (the tenth anniversary of his disappearance occurs at the end of July) and the two Orthodox bishops of Aleppo, of whom nothing has been known since April of 2013.

Support for the families of the missing. The resolution – passed with 83 votes in favor, 11 against and 62 abstentions – establishes that “after 12 years of conflict and violence” in Syria, there has been “little progress in alleviating the suffering of families”, providing them with “answers on the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons”. With this in mind, the independent body “will clarify the fate and place” where traces were lost and “will provide adequate support to the victims, survivors and families of the disappeared”.

For Damascus it is “an interference”. In addition to the representative of the Damascus government, among those who opposed the vote in the Assembly are the delegates of Russia, China and Iran. “This draft – said the Syrian representative to the UN Bassam Sabbagh, pointing in particular to the United States – clearly reflects a flagrant interference in our internal affairs and provides new evidence of the hostile approach pursued by some Western states against Syria”. The text does not specify the operating procedures that will regulate its functioning, the “terms of reference” of which must be drawn up by the United Nations General Secretariat within 80 days in collaboration with the Office of theHigh Commissioner for Human Rights.

“A necessary initiative”. However, the text specifies that it will have to guarantee “the full participation and representation of victims, survivors and families of missing persons” and will be guided by a victim-centred approach. “A necessary initiative – the UN office for human rights declared on Twitter – families have the right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, to help heal society as a whole”

In the videos on social networks, the disappeared are sought. Also Human Rights Watch (HRW) appreciates the vote, but adds that the new organization must have the right tools at its disposal to do its job. Yesterday’s vote is linked to an appeal launched last August by Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who asked for the formation of a body to guarantee answers to the families of the disappeared. A representative of the relatives had declared that many watch “the videos circulated (on the net and on social networks) of the massacres, to see if the relative is among the decapitated and mutilated bodies”.

Priests and bishops of whom nothing more is known. The theme of disappearances is also raised by the Syrian Church, in search of the truth about the fate of some of the most authoritative figures of whom there has been no news for some time. In the first place of Paolo Dall’Oglio, the Roman Jesuit and founder of the community of Deir Mar Musa al-Habashio, in the North, about 80 kilometers from Damascus. The last traces lead to Raqqa, a former stronghold of the self-styled “Caliphate” in Syria. A charismatic figure of Islamic-Christian interreligious dialogue, Dall’Oglio disappeared in the night between 28 and 29 July 2013 from the ISIS headquarters where he wanted to defend the values ​​of confrontation, demanding the release of several hostages in jihadist hands. Then there are also two Orthodox bishops of Aleppo of whom nothing is known: Yohanna Ibrahim, and Boulos Yaziji, of whom there is no news since April 22, 2013, kidnapped shortly before 6 in the afternoon in Kafr Dael, about 10 km from Aleppo.

Anomalous abductions and opaque presences. All those just mentioned are considered atypical kidnappings, which were not followed by claims or negotiations for their release and which fit into the context of the events that marked the bloodiest phase of the Syrian conflict. Above all, the role of the numerous groups of jihadist cutthroats, of dubious origin and financed by who knows who, for whom – in truth – would need another “independent body” to “shed light” on their origin and function in this conflict should be understood .