Professor Lynn Welchman contributes to article by UN Commision of Inquiry on Syria

Professor Lynn Welchman of the School of Law contributed to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria's article in Al Araby supporting the establishment of an international mechanism for the missing and disappeared in Syria. 

In August, the UN Secretary General had published a report (Missing People in the Syrian Arab Republic) calling on Member States to take concrete measures to address the situation of the missing in Syria and their families, who have been active in advocating for action. The UN study "presents a framework combining proposals to improve existing mechanisms and the creation of a new institution dedicated to clarifying the fate and whereabouts of persons reasonably believed to be missing in the Syrian Arab Republic and to providing adequate support to victims, survivors and the families of those missing."  

In their Interactive Dialogue at the UN Human Rights Council on 22 September, the UN Syria Commission, made up of three independent experts including Professor Welchman, urged Member States "not to look away" from Syria. 

Professor Welchman also attended the launch event of the UN Commision of Inquiry on Syria’s policy paper, Syria's Missing and Disappeared: Is there a Way Forward? in Geneva on 14 September.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria policy paper, Syria's Missing and Disappeared: Is there a Way Forward? is available online. 

The UNSG report, Missing People in the Syrian Arab Republic is available online.