Hundreds of Syrian academics, political researchers, journalists and civil society activists, ex-detainees and families of current detainee appealed to the United Nations as well as international and regional organizations to press for disclosing the fate of detainees held by the Assad regime and the various de-facto authorities in Syria.
The appeal was issued on Thursday after it was signed by 468 people who stressed the need to separate the issue of detainees from any other issue of a political solution.
The signatories pointed out that the issue of detainees is a tragedy that does not affect the detainees only, but also their families which suffer the inability to know the fate and whereabout of their loved ones.
The signatories pointed out that the ongoing documentation of the detainees has not yet led to any pressure on the Assad regime to release them or at least disclose their fate. They pointed out that the regime continues to withhold information about the places of detention, the health conditions of detainees, and the names of those who died in custody.
Moreover, the appeal stressed that the issue of detainees should not be subject to political bargaining, but rather to national standards, most notably humanitarian standards which are laid out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC) reaffirmed its support for all initiatives and efforts that aim to ensure the release of detainees and the disclosure of the fate of the missing in the Assad regime’s detention centers.
The SOC stressed the need for paying more attention to this issue and to address it in implementation of international resolutions on Syria, most notably the Geneva Communique of 2012 and UN Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
(Source: SOC’s media department)
