A delegation from Syria’s National Missing Persons Authority recently visited Bosnia and Herzegovina to gain insight into the country’s approach to handling the issue of missing persons, which could help uncover the fate of missing Syrians.
The five-day trip was organized in cooperation with the European Union and coordinated with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). The delegation visited Sarajevo, as well as Tuzla and Srebrenica, both of which were sites of mass atrocities during the 1990s.
In a statement to SANA, Mohammad Ridha Al-Jalkhi, head of the National Missing Persons Authority, highlighted the significant challenges the authority faces in uncovering the fate of tens of thousands of missing Syrians. He stressed the need for a proper framework from the start to avoid mistakes that could hinder later search efforts.
Al-Jalkhi also mentioned that the authority is drafting a law for missing persons, preparing to launch reporting mechanisms across Syria, and building a comprehensive national database.
The National Missing Persons Authority was established on May 17, 2025, as an independent body. It is tasked with investigating and documenting the fate of missing and forcibly disappeared individuals, creating a national database, and providing legal and humanitarian support to their families.
