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The Hague, 10 November 2025 – A delegation from the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), led by ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger, today concluded a week-long visit to Damascus, Syria.
During the visit, which began on 2 November, ICMP and the Syrian National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP) signed a Declaration of Principles of Collaboration, on 5 November. The declaration was signed between the National Commission for Missing Persons (NCMP) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the Independent Institution on Missing Persons in Syria (IIMP). The Declaration reaffirms the shared commitment of the three international organizations, in line with their respective mandates, to support the Syrian authorities and the NCMP in a national process to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in Syria, regardless of the circumstances of their disappearance or affiliations, and to support their families. The declaration also emphasizes respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, the sovereignty of the Syrian State, and the principles of neutrality, independence, and impartiality. It also underscores the centrality of victims and their families, and the shared goal of contributing to a transparent, efficient, and inclusive process to account for the missing.
“The signing of this Declaration signals Syria’s readiness to establish a professional, coordinated process to account for the missing,” said Bomberger. “ICMP will continue to assist by sharing technical expertise and by ensuring that families remain at the center of all efforts.”
Dr. Mohammad Reda Jalkhi, Head of the NCMP, said the partnership with ICMP “marks an important step towards building an effective, nationally led process to account for the missing in Syria. By combining international technical expertise with national commitment, we can begin to restore dignity to victims and provide answers to their families.”
In Damascus, the ICMP delegation held meetings with government officials, national institutions, local organizations, civil society representatives, and diplomatic partners.
Estimates of the number of people missing from Syria run as high as 300,000. This includes those who have gone missing as a result of summary execution, arbitrary and incommunicado detention, kidnapping and abduction, enslavement, sarin gas attacks, and other human rights abuses. The ongoing effects of war have also resulted in combatants and civilians of many nationalities going missing. Syrians have sought refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, or by following dangerous Mediterranean migration routes.
The ICMP visit to Syria was made possible through the generous support of Germany’s Federal Foreign Office.
About ICMP
ICMP is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons from conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, migration and other causes and to assist them in doing so. ICMP also supports the work of other organizations in their efforts, encourages public involvement in its activities and contributes to the development of appropriate expressions of commemoration and tribute to the missing.
