Geneva, 22 January 2026 – A two-day Dialogue Forum with the Syrian Civil Society organizations concluded last Friday in Geneva bringing together experts from the Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP), activists and representatives of a wide spectrum of Syrian civil society organizations working on the file of missing persons and enforced disappearances.
The forum brought together the Independent Institution and members of the Advisory Board with representatives of a broad and diverse group of Syrian civil society actors, including victims and family groups, women’s groups, documentation groups, human rights organizations, service providers and actors with particular expertise in the search for the missing.
This dialogue forum aimed at reviewing the latest contextual and programmatic developments on the Syrian missing persons file and exploring future engagement mechanisms including a collective platform to ensure meaningful participation of families and civil society in the missing persons’ file.
In recent months, the Independent Institution has entered into cooperation agreements with many civil society organizations. Participation in collective engagement mechanisms complements such bilateral engagement. The IIMP looks forward to continuing such fruitful collaboration and aspires to further increase its engagement with all relevant actors in Syria. It is also committed to broaden the outreach to more families and civil society organizations.
Participating CSOs highlighted the importance of reaching tangible steps and frameworks to operationalize search and support for concrete results, also establishing clear protocols and procedures and most importantly unifying and coordinating the efforts of all relevant parties, including national authorities, the National Commission on Missing Persons, and international organizations that work on this file.
****
For more information or media inquiries:
Please contact: iimp-syria@un.org
Follow and visit: Website - Facebook – LinkedIn - X - WhatsApp Channel