The families of missing and forcibly disappeared people in Syria have met a recent UN proposal to create an independent body to establish the fate of their loved ones with mixed emotions.
The UN Secretary General released a report last week recommending the creation of an independent institution dedicated to determining the fate and whereabouts of more than 110,000 missing and forcibly disappeared people in Syria.
The Syrian Network of Human Rights reported that more than 85 per cent of these people were forcibly disappeared at the hands of the Al Assad regime.
Syrian families have been calling for the creation of this body for more than a decade, while organisations for the forcibly disappeared have doggedly worked with limited resources to collect information on the missing.
Hala, 32, who asked for her last name to be withheld due to concern for her family still living in Syria, is happy but sceptical about what the result will be.
“In the very specific Syrian context, you cannot be very happy with anything, because I know deep down that the Syrian regime would not be very co-operative,” she told The National.
The last person to see Hala's “clever and kind” 21-year-old brother in 2013 said he had been in an area with Syrian regime security.
Her family have been searching for him ever since, remaining in Aleppo awaiting his return while Hala and another of her brothers fled the country.
“They’re hoping that one day, they will receive a call from him saying, ‘Hey, I’m here,’” Hala said.
“It’s been nine years and it’s highly unlikely he’s still alive, but we have nothing but hope.”
Kholoud Helmi, 37, also has no information about her brother, Ahmad, who was 22 when he was arrested by regime security forces during a raid on their home in Daraya.
Ms Helmi told The National she first felt “finally something has come into light” but is reluctant to be happy about the UN proposal.
“After 12 years of persistence and lobbying … is the international community going to take action?” Ms Helmi asked.
“Are they going to help us know where our beloved ones are? Am I going to know the fate of my brother, whether he is alive or dead?”
A vote is expected to be held by member states in the UN General Assembly this month on the establishment of the body, bypassing any possibility of a veto in the Security Council. But the practicality of putting this vision into practice remains difficult.
“Just giving information of the whereabouts and the fate of these missing people … not even saying that [the regime] killed these people, just saying, ‘we have them in detention without letting the families know’ … is great evidence that this regime has committed crimes against humanity,” Hala said.
A member of the Families for Freedom campaign group, Ms Helmi said if Syrian President Bashar Al Assad were to disclose the fate of detainees, he would be “waging war against himself”.
While the families have pushed for this body to be solely humanitarian to separate it from the political “mess” surrounding Syria, some believe there will need to be a deal or concessions made with the regime’s allies for there to be tangible outcomes.
As Association of Missing and Disappeared at Saidnaya prison co-founder Diab Serrih told The National, the US and the EU will need to put pressure on Russia to push its ally Syria into giving up information.
“The state of division, particularly following the war in Ukraine, will negatively affect this new body,” Mr Serrih said.
“The main challenge on revealing the fate of the missing is not having enough data on these people … and Russia not caring about this issue.”
He believes it will take a very long time for the independent body to be fully established and operational.
Ms Helmi — who now resides in the UK after fleeing Syria after the regime carried out a massacre in her home town in August 2012, killing 700 people over five days — said the lack of international political will continues to hinder any concrete action.
“The thing is we’ve seen things in the last 10 years and we see people are not serious, in any action they take against the Syrian government … unless it really helps their own interests” she said.
“We’ve seen massive crimes against humanity … like chemical attacks … and nothing has happened. No one is interested. If you are in pain, no one cares.”
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The five pillars of Islam
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
THE BIO
BIO:
Born in RAK on December 9, 1983
Lives in Abu Dhabi with her family
She graduated from Emirates University in 2007 with a BA in architectural engineering
Her motto in life is her grandmother’s saying “That who created you will not have you get lost”
Her ambition is to spread UAE’s culture of love and acceptance through serving coffee, the country’s traditional coffee in particular.
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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New schools in Dubai
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
FIGHT%20CARD
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About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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Company%C2%A0profile
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Dir: Ron Howard
Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson
3/5
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
