On June 29, 2023, a historic United Nations (UN) resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly, which established the independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic (hereinafter the Institution).
This is a unique occasion and a direct response to a long-standing demand of associations of families of missing persons and survivors of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance.
This policy brief aims to inform the process of elaborating the terms of reference of the new independent Institution on Missing Persons in the Syrian Arab Republic. Further, it provides concrete and practical recommendations on how to integrate a mental health approach and provision of psychosocial support into these different elements of the Institution.
These recommendations are based on existing frameworks, guidance, and lessons learned from other contexts and they include the inputs, reflections, and review from representatives of Syrian community service organizations that have direct experience with the provision of mental health services to victims and survivors of torture and families of missing persons.