The United Nations called on the international community to take urgent action and take concrete measures to promote human rights, human dignity and justice in Syria, and to resolve the file of the missing.
This came in a session held by the United Nations General Assembly, yesterday, Friday, to hear a statement from the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on the human rights situation in Syria.
In her address to the members, Bachelet said, "It is imperative that the international community respond to the scale and atrocity of violations and crimes committed in Syria with concrete measures to advance human rights, human dignity and justice."
"We need to act quickly, and we have to be proactive because the victims and their families deserve nothing less," she added.
The High Commissioner stressed that "the families of the missing in Syria have the right to know the truth, and the realization of this right is an essential step towards accountability and reconciliation."
She pointed out that there is "a clear lack of progress in addressing this tragedy, despite the Syrian conflict entering its 12th year."
The Commissioner explained that "the current status, whereabouts and fate of tens of thousands of people are still unknown."
"Tens of thousands of Syrians have been arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in harsh conditions, often subjected to torture and ill-treatment, in addition to the exposure of men and women as well as children, including boys under the age of 11, to sexual violence during detention," she added.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates the number of detainees and forcibly disappeared persons in Syria at more than 151,000, according to a report issued in mid-March 2022 on the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the revolution.