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Syria prisoners and missing – OSE, ICRC, UNHCR 13 December 2024
Syria: UN and partners urge action to preserve evidence of prison atrocities, stabilize country
Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria five days ago, hundreds of people have rushed to Saydnaya prison, desperate to find loved ones. Disturbing images from the prison and other detention centers have since surfaced, exposing the “unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured for years,” said Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN special envoy for Syria, on Friday. Quoting from a statement by Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen, she described these scenes as a “testament to unspeakable suffering and pain beyond comprehension endured by those detained, their families, and their loved ones.”
These images, however, reveal just a glimpse of the horrors inflicted within Syria’s detention system. Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Ms. Fenton called for “decisive, compassionate action” to aid families of the detained, missing, and recently freed. She highlighted the urgent need for medical care, psychological support, legal assistance, and safe shelter.
The UN Envoy has stressed that preserving detention sites, mass graves, and documentation is critical for accountability and justice. “Evidence of the atrocities must be preserved and thoroughly documented to ensure accountability under international humanitarian law. Justice for the victims and their families is not only a right but essential for healing and preventing further violations,” Ms. Fenton quoted the statement as saying. She also urged authorities to release children, women, and men still arbitrarily detained.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has documented 35,000 missing individuals in Syria, but the true number is likely much higher due to cases unreported to the ICRC. Many families remain in agonizing uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones. The ICRC called for immediate discussions with interim authorities to safeguard evidence, including documents and mass graves.
“There will be a need for a repository to collect this information. Such a repository does not yet exist, and we are offering to work with the authorities to determine the best way to proceed,” said Stephan Sakalian, ICRC’s head of delegation for Syria.
The situation in Syria remains volatile. While some refugees are returning, others are leaving or taking a “wait-and-see” approach, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
UNHCR’s representative in Syria, Gonzalo Vargas Llosa identified three critical needs for Syria’s sustainable recovery, in line with the expectations of its returning citizens: “First, a peaceful political transition at the top. Second, tolerance, reconciliation, and acceptance in communities where Syrians are returning. And third, Syrians need not just immediate relief, but an injection of international support to resume a dignified life.”
An interagency appeal launched in October sought US $324 million for relief efforts through March 2025. So far, only US $88 million has been funded through contributions and projections.
Ends
Story: “Syria: prisoners and missing – OSE, ICRC, UNHCR” – 13 December 2024
Speakers:
- Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN Special Envoy for Syria
- Stephan Sakalian, ICRC head of delegation for Syria (speaking from Damascus)
- Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR Representative of Syria (speaking from Damascus)
TRT: 02’30”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 December 2024 - GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
Geneva Press briefing
SHOTLIST
- Exterior medium shot: UN flag alley.
- Wide lateral shot of the podium with speakers at the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN Special Envoy for Syria: “The images from Saydnaya and other detention facilities starkly underscore the unimaginable barbarity Syrians have endured and reported for years. Despite extensive documentation and testimonies, they only scratched the surface of the carceral systems horrors. These images are a profound testament to unspeakable suffering and pain beyond comprehension endured by those detained, their families and their loved ones. Now is the time for decisive, compassionate action. Families of the detained, missing and recently freed need our urgent support, this includes medical care, psychological support, legal assistance and safe shelter.”
- Close shot of journalist listening at the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the UN Special Envoy for Syria:: “Detention sites, mass graves and related documentation must be secured to aid families in their search for justice and accountability. We must prioritize accounting for the missing, ensuring the families receive the clarity and recognition they desperately need. Evidence of the atrocities must be preserved and thoroughly documented to ensure accountability under international humanitarian law. Justice for the victims and their families is not only a right but is also essential for healing and for preventing further violations.”
- Medium shot of speakers at the podium in the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Stephan Sakalian, ICRC head of delegation for Syria: “There will be a need to have a repository for collecting this information. Such a repository does not exist yet, and it is precisely the services we are offering to the authorities to discuss with them on the best way to proceed on this important matter.”
- Wide lateral shot of the press conference room.
- SOUNDBITE (English) Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR Representative of Syria: “We expect three things. One, we expect a peaceful political transition at the top. Second, in the communities to which they are going back, we expect tolerance, reconciliation and acceptance. And third, very, very importantly, they are expecting, not just immediate relief, not just a bottle of water and a little bit of food, they are expecting an injection of international support so that they can resume a dignified life.”
- Various shots of the press conference room.
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As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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