UN Syria inquiry presses for answers on missing detainees after wide-ranging visit

Monia Ammar and Fionnuala Ní Aoláin from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria met victims, government officials and civil society groups between 1 and 7 July.

They also visited Homs and Quneitra following earlier trips to Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Raqqa and Hassakeh.

Echoes of conflict

Their visit was bookended by violence. Suspected improvised explosive devices struck a cafe near the Justice Ministry and an area close to the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, killing and injuring civilians.

The commissioners condemned both attacks and voiced solidarity with victims and their families.

They welcomed progress on a transitional justice law and the start of trials over abuses committed under the former Assad regime, which collapsed in early December 2024.

But, they stressed that trials must respect fair trial guarantees and called for Syria’s criminal code to be brought into line with international standards.

Families struggle for answers

Detention remains a major concern. While the government has pledged to respect detainees’ rights, families are still struggling to trace relatives held in government custody, with many detained for long periods without judicial review.

The commission raised similar alarm over detention in the northeast, including at Roj camp, where more than six in 10 of those held are children.

It called on countries to repatriate their nationals from Roj and Aq Burhan camps and release those held arbitrarily. It also pressed Damascus to clarify the fate of roughly 3,500 Syrians, including children, reportedly transferred to Iraq.

In Hassakeh, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed investigators noted that more than 1,000 fighters captured during fighting between government troops and the mostly-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces in January had since been released, though the whereabouts of some 800 others remains unknown.

Vigilantism in Homs

In Homs, commissioners raised concerns about vigilante attacks on people accused of having served the former government and called for all killings to be investigated promptly and impartially.

Property rights also featured prominently.

The commission highlighted the destruction and seizure of homes during the conflict and urged fair compensation for those unable to reclaim property, particularly women heading households.

Aftermath of Israeli incursions

In Quneitra, the commission’s ongoing investigation into Israeli actions in Syrian territory heard accounts of incursions, detentions, harassment and home demolitions along with blocked access to farmland. It urged Israel to restore access to roads and land and release arbitrarily detained civilians.

On education, the commission welcomed steps to harmonise school curricula nationally and let undocumented children attend school and access healthcare. But, it remains concerned that students in parts of restive Sweida still cannot sit final exams.

The commission thanked the government in Damascus for facilitating access to detention sites, though it said it was denied entry to some facilities in Raqqa and Hassakeh.

The Human Rights Council-mandated body was set up in 2011 to investigate rights violations in Syria. Its mandate was most recently renewed on 7 April.