MSDDespite the political and military transformations that the Syrian scene witnessed over the past nine years of the Syrian crisis, and despite the changing map of the conflict, this crisis did not bring anything new in the issue of the detainees, and it remained in place despite the presence of the file in most international conferences and meetings on the Syrian crisis.
The detainees’ file did not receive the required attention as a pressing humanitarian and human rights issue. Rather, it was included among the deferred political files until the final settlement of the crisis, ignoring the suffering of thousands of Syrian detainees and their families.
Amina Omar, the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, warned the parties to the conflict in Syria of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Syrian detention centers in case of breakout of the novel Coronavirus across the country, in light of spreading this pandemic in all parts of the world.
Humanitarian file
The co-chair of SDC pointed out the need for the detainees’ file to be returned to the front and take the appropriate space of the attention of the conflicting Syrian parties and to stop it from “politicizing” this humanitarian file concerned with the lives of thousands of Syrians and searching for solutions that lead to revealing the fate of prisoners of conscience, the kidnapped and forcibly disappeared persons, in prisons of the central government in Damascus and prisons of various opposition factions, or detained by the Self-Administration of NE Syria.
Confidence building among Syrians
Omar expressed the possibility of restoring confidence among the Syrians, if any progress was made in the file of prisoners of conscience, as this file captures the interest of a wide segment of Syrian society as it is related to human freedom and the rights contained in various international covenants, especially those related to human rights or political and social rights. It is one of the most important provisions of international resolution 2254. Dealing with the fate of the detainees opens the way for discussion of the rest of the files in terms of their solution and the final settlement of the Syrian crisis that entered its tenth year without a clear horizon or a timetable ending the plight of the Syrians.
The SDC initiative is not a product of the case
The co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, Amina Omar, said that they have been in the council (MSD) since its establishment in late 2015, working to uncover the fate of the arrested, kidnapped and forcibly disappeared persons, and noted that they are dealing with the issue as an independent humanitarian file related to the lives of the Syrians that we consider the most important thing we have. Omar called for the detainees’ file to be included as above negotiating file, and it cannot be used to bargain or blackmail by any party.
Initial response
Omar said, in light of disputes among the Syrian parties, but the file of the detainees, the kidnapped and forcibly disappeared persons must be handled with a high responsibility, and all concerned parties should be committed to it and considerate laws, human rights regulations and relevant international laws and interact with this initiative to end the suffering of the Syrian people and achieve justice.
She added that their initiative received a response from the Self-Administration of North and East Syria, which issued a statement announcing its support for this initiative and its willingness to cooperate in this file in the hope of participation and interaction of other Syrian parties concerned.
next step
Omar disclosed that they had formed a committee composed of legal and juristic specialists, civil society activists and families of the detainees and kidnapped. Their names were announced in a press conference. The committee’s mission is to collect data and information about the detainees and conditions of detention in addition to communicating and coordinating with local and international agencies concerned with this file.
The committee will allocate phone and e-mail numbers in order to communicate with the families of the detainees or any party.
On March 28, the Syrian Democratic Council issued a statement to public opinion calling on the Syrian parties to release all detainees, prisoners of conscience and abductees and reveal the fate of the missing persons, it announced that it will do everything necessary to make the required progress and remove all ambiguities in the file of detention.
Media of the Syrian Democratic Council
April 10, 2020
