24 January 2025

Fadwa Mahmoud, co-founder of the organization Families for Freedom, stated that the central focus of the issue of enforced disappearance in Syria is the families. She added that the establishment of the UN institution dedicated to missing persons in Syria represents a source of hope for the families.

Fadwa Mahmoud, who is both a wife and mother of missing individuals, emphasized in an exclusive interview with UN News that all organizations working in this field “must return to the families, as they are the essential and primary link in the issue of enforced disappearance.”

Fadwa participated in the Global Conference on Enforced Disappearance, held this month in collaboration between the Convention Against Enforced Disappearance Initiative, the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Fadwa Mahmoud—accompanied during the interview by Karla Quintana, head of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria—stressed that families will continue their journey and struggle, adding, “We will all work to reach the truth.”

Below is the full interview with Fadwa Mahmoud, co-founder of Families for Freedom:

From your perspective, what is the importance of the Global Conference on Enforced Disappearance?
Fadwa Mahmoud: In my opinion, the conference is very important. This is the first time I’ve participated in such a conference. It’s remarkable because it involves families and victims’ associations. For me, this is a very important step. It’s also extremely necessary, because I believe the central focus of the issue of enforced disappearance is the families.

Why is it important for families of the missing to be part of the dialogue on this issue?
Fadwa Mahmoud: Because they are the stakeholders. Any organization or person speaking about enforced disappearance cannot compare to a mother speaking about it, or a sister, or a wife. All these organizations must return to the families because they are the essential and primary link in the issue of enforced disappearance.

No one can speak about my son or husband like I can. I am like all the families who have cases of enforced disappearance. That’s why we always emphasize the central role of the family—because to do something truly serious and useful, the role of the families cannot be bypassed. This is true across the experiences of all peoples.

What is the importance of the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria, and what role did families play in its establishment?
Fadwa Mahmoud: This was a source of hope for us as families. For 13 or 14 years, we were facing a long, dark tunnel. As a result of our struggles and efforts as families and victims’ associations, we managed to get 83 countries to vote for the establishment of the institution. This was a truly significant effort we made to create it.

This institution is necessary and important for us because its mandate centers on the role of families and victims. Other organizations might have ignored the role of victims. But for this institution, since its inception and formation, the role of victims has been fundamental and central. That’s why we have a lot of hope.

Of course, there are many challenges, and I understand the existing challenges. But we as families, just as we struggled to establish the institution, are ready to struggle to ensure it fulfills its core role in Syria. Despite all the challenges, we hope the process moves quickly, because families are out in the streets searching for answers, and no one is answering their questions. Therefore, we ask that this institution be a window for families, and I hope this happens soon.

What message would you like to send?
Fadwa Mahmoud: I want to tell the families in Syria that we struggled under the authoritarian regime led by Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad, and we will continue our struggle, because a mother, sister, or wife cannot forget her son or brother. Even if all organizations and society abandon the issue of disappearance or detention, the mother, sister, wife, or family cannot abandon it.

We want to work together, and now that the tyrant is gone, we have the space to struggle and continue our journey. We want the truth, regardless of what that truth is. But we want that truth. That’s what I want to say to the families—and we will all work to reach the truth.

The Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria 
The Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria was established by a resolution of the UN General Assembly in June 2023 to determine the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in Syria and to support victims, including survivors and families of the missing.

The institution is currently receiving relevant information, including primary sources of data such as archives, records, lists from detention centers, prisons, courts, cemeteries, forensic doctors, and information about known or potential burial sites.

The story was originally published on UN News platforms and can be found here.