A/HRC/25/65 Annex IV [English only] Without a trace: enforced disappearances in Syria I. Introduction 1. Women, standing outside detention centres and holding photographs of their disappeared male relatives, have become an enduring image of suffering in Syria. It is an image which speaks to the essence of the violation of enforced disappearance: the taking of a loved one, the desperate search for information through official and unofficial channels, and the torment of those left behind. Those who wait are often the only visible trace of the violation. 2. An enforced disappearance is an arrest, detention or abduction, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by the concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared. Cases of enforced disappearances were first documented by the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic during the pro-democracy protests in March 2011. As the unrest devolved into an armed conflict, the investigation covered practices related to enforced disappearances perpetrated by all parties to the conflict. Investigations uncovered a consistent country-wide pattern in which people – mainly adult males – have been seized by the Syrian security and armed forces, as well as by proGovernment militias, during mass arrests, house searches, at checkpoints and in hospitals. In some instances, the disappearances appeared to have a punitive element, targeting family members of defectors, activists, fighters as well as those believed to be providing medical care to the opposition. 3. Over the last year, specific anti-Government armed groups have begun to abduct certain categories of civilians and hold them hostage. Persons perceived to be supporting the Government, human rights defenders, journalists, activists, humanitarian workers, and religious leaders have been seized by various armed groups and held under the threat of death until their release was negotiated for ransom or a prisoner exchange. Hostage-taking is a war crime, characterized by coercion and the infliction of a threat until the demands of the captor are met. 4. In contrast, enforced disappearance –the subject of this paper– is a denial of the very existence of its victims, placing them outside the protection of the law. Authorities across Syria have refused to provide information about the fate or whereabouts of disappeared. In some instances, there appeared to be a policy of not providing such information to families. Many of those interviewed were too frightened of reprisals to make official inquiries. In some cases, relatives who approached the security services were themselves arrested. The Government has perpetuated a system of arrests and incommunicado detention that is conducive to enforced disappearances. There is also evidence that some anti-Government armed groups have adopted practices that could be considered tantamount to enforced disappearances. This paper charts the major trends and patterns of this phenomenon in Syria from March 2011 to November 2013 and draws from numerous first-hand interviews conducted by the Commission over this period. The Commission regrets that it was not able to access the country. This limited its ability to investigate inside Syria, especially cases of anti-Government armed group abuses. 36