Enforced Disappearances and Torture in the Syrian Conflict: Recent Contributions of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Abstract Since its beginning in 2011, the armed conflict in Syria has been marked by a preoccupying number of enforced disappearances perpetrated by state officials as well as similar crimes attributed to non-state actors. This situation has been documented, in part, by the United Nations Working Group on Enforced Disappearances (WGEID) in its annual reports and cases. This article argues that, in certain circumstances, enforced disappearances constitute not only torture but also war crimes and crimes against humanity. It details how the WGEID and other institutions have documented such practices in the context of the Syrian conflict as well as the impacts that they have had on victims.