Since 2011, Syria has been the scene of a global proxy war that has claimed the lives of more than 500,000 people. Another 13 million have either fled the country or been displaced within the country's borders. Over 100,000 people are also listed as missing. The unknown fate of the disappeared is one of the greatest tragedies of the Syrian war.

To deal with finding missing people, the United Nations wants to create a new institution. The formation of the "Independent Institution for Disappeared Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic" was decided on Thursday at the UN General Assembly in New York. The organization is thus complying with demands from affected families and human rights groups. After 12 years of conflict and violence, little progress has been made to alleviate the suffering of the families. These expected answers about the fate and whereabouts of the missing are stated in a corresponding resolution.

The establishment of the new UN mechanism was positively received in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria. The Committee of Displaced Persons from Serêkaniyê (Komîteya Koçberên Serêkaniyê) hailed the resolution as a "long overdue but welcome step" towards justice. It is extremely important that an international institution is formed that focuses on the whereabouts of the missing Syrians. At least as important is the promotion of a serious, impartial and transparent investigation so that the fate of the missing can be clarified and those responsible can be found and punished.

"At the same time, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council are calling for the fate of the people missing in Rojava to be included in the mechanism," said the Committee of Displaced Persons from the city of Serêkaniyê, which was occupied by Turkey in October 2019. Since the war that broke out in 2011, countless people have also disappeared in the autonomous region, and this practice continues to this day. However, those responsible and perpetrators are no longer members of the regime in Damascus, but Turkey as the occupying power in parts of Rojava and its jihadist proxy troops.

The committee is demanding that the UN put pressure on Turkey and its allies and thus obtain a withdrawal of the occupying forces from Syria. This is the only way to ensure that human rights violations and war crimes in the country are ended, that the conflict is settled, that problems are solved through dialogue and that displaced persons can return to their homes. “Overcoming all these challenges is a prerequisite for peace in Syria. The UN has a responsibility to work towards this,” said the committee.