New York/Damascus, Aug. 31 (SANA) The National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP) welcomed the United Nations’ adoption of an annual International Day of Women Searching for the Missing, based on an initiative proposed by the commission drawing on the experience of Syrian families and carried by Syria to the UN.
The UN General Assembly adopted the resolution during a session on Monday, designating Dec. 19 of each year as a day to honor women searching for the missing, following a proposal by the National Commission for Missing Persons and carried by the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN.
The commission said in a statement titled “Because They Never Stopped Searching” that the adoption of this day constitutes recognition of the role of women who carried the burden of searching for their loved ones and affirms the importance of their participation in search and truth-seeking efforts.
Progress on the ground
The commission noted that this international recognition comes as it continues to make practical progress on the ground through the national “Athar” program for reporting missing persons, responding to reports of mass grave sites, protecting and documenting them, and developing pathways for psychological, social and counseling support for families while strengthening their participation at all stages of the search.
The commission also launched the national “Athar” program on Sunday, Aug. 30, providing families with a secure and accessible means of registering information about missing relatives and submitting reports through a mobile application and the commission’s website.
Syria’s UN representative: Women asked when questions were a crime
Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ibrahim Olabi, told the General Assembly during the voting session that Syria is mobilizing the international community to support those affected by the tragedy of the missing. He recalled the suffering of women around the world, including Syrian women, who faced “the worst missing persons catastrophe in modern history.”
“Many women were not only searching for the missing—they themselves were among the missing,” Olabi said. He also remembered women who passed away before learning the fate of their loved ones.
“Women asked when asking was a crime, and they searched when searching led to danger,” Olabi said, adding that “Syria has moved from a dark era in which this pain was denied, to an era that embraces the light, acknowledges the tragedy, and seeks to address it with full transparency.”
Commission thanks supporters
The commission expressed its appreciation for the efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, the Syrian mission to the UN, and all countries that supported and contributed to the adoption of the initiative.
The resolution aims to shed light on the ongoing suffering and the roles played by mothers, wives and sisters in their journeys to learn the fate of their loved ones who went missing due to conflicts and wars. The designation coincides with the international community’s observance of the International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Aug. 30.
On July 22, the UN Security Council discussed transitional justice and missing persons in Syria, during which the head of the National Commission for Missing Persons called on member states to support efforts within the UN to adopt an international day for women of families of the missing.
Kh.A / Mzn
