Mashta Nour association calls for action to reveal fate of those abducted by ISIS 

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Mashta Nour Association issued a statement today. It was read out in Free Women's Square by association member Darwish Kar'o, in the presence of the families of the abducted.

In its statement, the Association noted that "the disappeared were not parties to any armed conflict; rather, they were the pillars of society—students and teachers prevented from fulfilling their educational mission; workers and tradespeople betrayed while striving to earn their daily livelihood; and unarmed civilians snatched from their families for no other reason than their attachment to their land and their lives."

The Association characterized this ongoing disappearance as a "continuing crime against humanity that renews itself with every passing day that the truth remains unknown."

The Association put forward several urgent demands, most notably:

– Action by the transitional government—through its legislative and executive institutions—to form a special committee to pursue the cases of those missing or abducted by ISIS and to uncover their fate.

– The formation of a committee involving the independent institution responsible for missing persons affairs, in coordination with the Syrian government and international organizations, to urgently and immediately reveal the fate of these abducted individuals.

– Immediate action on the missing persons file by the United Nations, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), utilizing databases and detention records held by various parties to trace their whereabouts.

The Association also called for the classification of the abduction and enforced disappearance of workers, teachers, and civilians as crimes against humanity—subject to no statute of limitations—and for the prosecution of all those involved.

Furthermore, it called for the provision of psychological and legal support to the families of the missing and urged that their cause be treated as a humanitarian and moral priority that transcends any political considerations. The association concluded its statement by affirming that "revealing the truth is the minimum right of the waiting families, and the fundamental step toward achieving justice and reparation; this bleeding wound will not heal until every missing person returns or their fate is revealed transparently."

Sh-S

ANHA