Syria Announces Establishment of National Commission for Missing Persons

Syria on Saturday announced the formation of a national commission for missing persons, more than five months after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad following more than a decade of war.

The fate of tens of thousands of detainees and others who went missing remains one of the most harrowing legacies of Syria's conflict, which erupted in 2011 when Assad's forces brutally repressed anti-government protests.

A decree signed by interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and released by the presidency announced the formation of an independent "national commission for missing persons".

The body is tasked with "researching and uncovering the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared, documenting cases, establishing a national database and providing legal and humanitarian support to their families".

It will have "financial and administrative independence" and act over all of Syria territory, according to the decree signed by Sharaa.

The commission will be headed by Mohammed Reda Jalkhi, who in early March was appointed to help draft a constitutional declaration for the country's transition.

In March, Sharaa signed into force a constitutional declaration for a five-year transitional period.

It stipulated that during that period, a "transitional justice commission" would be formed to "determine the means for accountability, establish the facts, and provide justice to victims and survivors" of the former government's misdeeds.