FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OF THE "DISAPPEARED": WHAT YOU CAN DO

"I am writing this letter on behalf of my neighbor. Almost eleven years ago her son went on a trip with friends to Syria and he never returned. He was only seventeen at the time and had just graduated from high school....They have paid so much money to so many people over the years that they have had to sell their house and many of their belongings. They have no more money to pay out and still have not even seen their son's face. They believe that he was first in Tadmor prison and then in Sednaya prison. They have no other information about him and although they make monthly trips to Syria, they have gained nothing further from these trips."

-Letter received by Human Rights Watch from Irbid, Jordan, April 1997.

Often the best way to provide assistance for a "disappeared" relative is to make public the information about his or her situation - and to seek the support of domestic and international human rights bodies. International human rights organizations can offer support in publicizing the plight of a victim of "disappearance," and help the family use specialized human rights procedures of the United Nations that are keyed specifically to making urgent interventions on behalf of the "disappeared."

Organizations such as Human Rights Watch respect the need, in many cases, to withhold the identity of the sources of reports of human rights abuse in order to minimize the risk to them. The risk for families and others who protest the secret detention of their loved ones may be a real one, and we can only seek to minimize any risk. International human rights groups have a range of options in their work for the "disappeared." They can publicize individual cases of the "disappeared" including, when known, the circumstances of their detentions, with a view to mobilizing international pressure on the governments involved to release them or to acknowledge their detentions and whereabouts, and the reasons they are being held. Publicity is also an important means to ensure the individuals believed to be in secret detention are not simply forgotten. Alternatively, international organizations can formally communicate, without publicity, to the governments involved and to intergovernmental bodies which have as part of their responsibility to raise urgent cases directly with governments.

The provision of basic information about any "disappearance" is essential to facilitate domestic and international action on behalf of the victim: the name and other identifying information about the person who was seized and "disappeared," a detailed account of the time, place and circumstances of the detention, and the measures taken to establish the whereabouts and legal situation of the "disappeared." A photograph of the "disappeared" can in itself prove a potent antidote when governments act as if a secret detainee had never existed.

In continuing our work to end "disappearances" in Lebanon, and to focus attention on cases of individuals from countries other than Lebanon who "disappeared" at the hands of Syrian agents, Human Rights Watch is interested in establishing contact with families who believe that their relatives are "disappeared" and in Syrian custody. Updated information on "disappearances" is important for work on behalf of the "disappeared" even when particular details-and names- must remain confidential. Human Rights Watch will respect requests by relatives not to make public certain information. Below, we provide information about how to contact us.

The United Nations has a special mechanism available for the families and friends of the "disappeared." It is called the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The Working Group was established in 1980 by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which meets in Geneva, Switzerland. Since 1980, the Working Group has made inquiries to governments about thousands of cases of "disappearances" in more than forty countries around the world.

The Working Group accepts and examines reports about "disappearances" that are submitted to it by relatives of the "disappeared" or by human rights organizations acting on behalf of the family. The Working Group meets three times a year for six to eight working days. In May 1997, the Working Group met in New York, and Human Rights Watch presented this report to its members and discussed the problem of "disappearances" in Lebanon.

Although international human rights groups regularly submit requests for urgent action to the Working Group, families may want to contact the Working Group directly on behalf of relatives who are "disappeared." For that purpose, we outline below the basic information this dynamic part of the U.N.'s human rights structure requires in order to act. In the appendix of this report is a copy of a form produced by the Working Group, which the relatives of the "disappeared" can use to mail information to the Working Group about a specific case.

If you would like to report the case of a relative who has "disappeared" to the Working Group, you should submit the following minimum information:

· The full name of the "disappeared" person.

· When the "disappearance" occurred.

The date of the "disappearance," including the day, month and year, if known. You can include either the date of the abduction or arrest, or the date that the missing person was last seen.

· Where the "disappearance" occurred.

The place of the arrest or abduction, or the place where the "disappeared" person was last seen.

· Information about who or what agency is responsible, if known

Information about parties that were presumed to have carried out the arrest or abduction, and/or the parties that are believed to be holding the "disappeared" person in unacknowledged detention.

· Information about the search.

The steps that your family, and others, have taken to determine the fate and the whereabouts of the "disappeared" person.

You must submit information in writing to the Working Group at the following address:

Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Center for Human Rights

United Nations Office at Geneva

CH-1211 Geneva 10

Switzerland

You may also contact Human Rights Watch about the case of a "disappeared" family member, in any of the following ways:

By mail:

Human Rights Watch/Middle East

485 Fifth Avenue

New York, New York 10017 USA

By mail to our post office box in New York, without the need to use our name:

P.O. Box 4428

Grand Central Station

New York, N.Y. 10163

By facsimile:

Human Rights Watch/Middle East

New York, New York

fax: 212-972-0905 or 212-986-3357

By email to our office in New York:

sherryg@hrw.org

* * *

Human Rights Watch/Middle East

Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords. It is supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly. The staff includes Kenneth Roth, executive director; Michele Alexander, development director; Cynthia Brown, program director; Barbara Guglielmo, finance and administration director; Robert Kimzey, publications director; Jeri Laber, special advisor; Lotte Leicht, Brussels office director; Susan Osnos, communications director; Jemera Rone, counsel; Wilder Tayler, general counsel; and Joanna Weschler, United Nations representative. Robert L. Bernstein is the chair of the board and Adrian W. DeWind is vice chair. Its Middle East division was established in 1989 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Eric Goldstein is the acting executive director; Joe Stork is the advocacy director; Virginia N. Sherry is associate director; Clarissa Bencomo, Elahé Sharifpour-Hicks, and Nejla Sammakia are research associates; Gamal Abouali is the Orville Schell fellow; Shira Robinson and Awali Samara are associates. Gary Sick is the chair of the advisory committee and Lisa Anderson and Bruce Rabb are vice chairs.

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