Less than a year after assuming its duties: Lebanon’s National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared announces full readiness to move into field work and open the mass graves file

Statement issued by the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared

The National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared announced that it has become institutionally and operationally ready to carry out the duties assigned to it under Law No. 105/2018, less than a year after assuming its responsibilities. It confirmed that it has already begun tangible practical steps on the mass graves file, and is working on preparing a project to establish a national forensic medicine center, which constitutes a fundamental pillar of its work, in preparation for formally submitting it soon. It has also launched an advocacy track aimed at securing Lebanon’s ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

The commission’s president said: “Families have waited for decades to receive answers, and we realize that our responsibility is not measured by the number of meetings we hold or the regulations we adopt, but by what we actually provide families in terms of information and answers. What we have accomplished over the past months is the foundation that enables us to move to the fieldwork phase and safeguard families’ right to know.”

Practical steps on the mass graves file

The commission has begun actual work on the mass graves file, sending requests to the various public prosecutor’s offices across Lebanon asking them to provide any available information on potential mass grave sites, in a step described as the first of its kind at the official level in years.

Advocacy for ratification of the international convention

In cooperation with the “Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Missing in Lebanon” and the “Act for the Disappeared” association, the commission launched an advocacy track aimed at pushing Lebanon toward ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED). In this context, the commission sent an official letter to Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Tarek Mitri, requesting support for the ratification process of this convention, which constitutes a key international legal framework for preventing enforced disappearance, holding perpetrators accountable, and guaranteeing the rights of victims and their families.

Institutional and operational readiness

Since assuming its duties at the end of 2025, the commission held its first meeting on Oct. 20, 2025, and completed the handover process with the previous commission on Oct. 31, 2025. Since then:

• It moved to its new headquarters in the Sodeco area and established a specialized data unit, which was technically equipped and staffed with the necessary personnel.

• It adopted the Integrated Data Management System (iDMS) of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), and signed an agreement for the use of the system, as part of its efforts to develop a secure and professional environment for managing information related to the missing.

• It developed a five-year work strategy approved by the commission’s members, and prepared a data governance framework and standard operating procedures for the data unit in accordance with relevant international standards and practices.

• It prepared and submitted a proposal for the issuance of a decree related to reparations measures for the families of the missing to both the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Prime Minister, as part of strengthening families’ rights and affirming the state’s responsibility toward them.

• It began communication with Syria’s national body for the missing with the aim of signing a cooperation and information-sharing agreement, contributing to efforts to support the search and clarify the fate of the missing in both countries.

Preparing a project to establish a national forensic medicine center

The commission is currently working on preparing a project to establish a national forensic medicine center, in preparation for formally submitting it to the relevant authorities in the near future. This center constitutes a fundamental pillar of the commission’s work and of real progress on the missing persons file, as it would provide the infrastructure needed to carry out the identification of remains and preserve samples in accordance with internationally recognized chain-of-custody standards. The absence of such a center has been one of the most significant technical obstacles that has historically prevented progress in uncovering the fate of the missing. Its establishment would enable Lebanon to acquire the national capacities needed to support the commission’s work over the long term.

Supportive partnerships

These steps were implemented with technical and financial support from the commission’s partners, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Swiss Embassy (FDFA). The commission also continued its coordination and technical meetings with the International Commission on Missing Persons, the United Nations Development Programme, in addition to a number of associations concerned with the missing persons file.

The commission submitted contributions and reports to a number of international mechanisms concerned with human rights and enforced disappearance issues, and prepared an initial concept for launching a national information and awareness campaign on the issue of the missing and the commission’s role.

Next steps

The National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared affirms its commitment to continuing its work in cooperation with families, relevant authorities, and supporting partners, and calls on families, associations, and civil society to contact it in order to contribute to the implementation of its mandate and the realization of families’ right to know.

For contact and inquiries

National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared

Address: Saab Building, Independence Street, Sodeco, Achrafieh

Phone: 71096643

Email: info@ncmfd.org.lb