A delegation of families whose relatives are imprisoned or have forcibly disappeared in Syria, and of Syrians who have been detained and returned from enforced disappearances, arrived in Brussels on Thursday 21 February to call on the EU to take action to end arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances in the country. They had already made the request in a letter sent to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, on 25 January.
The delegation's objective was to inform European and international decision-makers of the scale and impact of the crimes of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances in Syria, in addition to demanding concrete and strong action from the EU to establish "the truth, justice and responsibility of the perpetrators of these crimes".
It also made specific recommendations for the ‘Brussels 3' conference on Syria, which will take place from 12 to 14 March this year. The delegation is therefore calling in particular for: - Syrian civil society, specifically the families of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons, to be present at the inter-ministerial meeting; - the EU and the international community to show greater political will and to devote more resources to holding the perpetrators of these crimes accountable and bringing them to justice. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)