30 August 2026 – Tripoli, Lebanon

On the occasion of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Cedar Centre for Legal Studies (CCLS) calls on the Lebanese authorities to take concrete measures to address the unresolved legacy of enforced disappearances in Lebanon, prevent new cases, ensure effective investigations and guarantee the right of victims and their families to truth, justice and reparation.

For Lebanon, enforced disappearance remains both an unresolved legacy of the 1975–1990 civil war and a contemporary human rights concern.

Decades of unanswered questions

Lebanon continues to grapple with the enduring consequences of enforced disappearances committed during the civil war. An estimated 17,000 people remain unaccounted for, leaving families in prolonged anguish and uncertainty and depriving them of their fundamental right to know the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

The adoption of Law No. 105/2018 on Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons was an important step forward. The law recognizes the right to know and established the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, mandated to investigate cases, establish the fate and whereabouts of missing persons and support the process of providing answers to their families.

However, significant challenges remain in the implementation of the law. The National Commission requires the necessary institutional, technical and financial resources to fully exercise its mandate, including the investigation of mass graves, collection and preservation of evidence, and forensic and DNA identification.

For families who have waited decades, the passage of time cannot diminish the State’s obligation to establish the truth.

Recent cases demonstrate that enforced disaappearance remains a present concern

Alongside Lebanon’s historical cases, recent cases demonstrate that enforced disappearance remains a contemporary concern.

Between September 2023 and August 2026, CCLS submitted 25 complaints concerning alleged recent cases of enforced disappearance to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation and subsequently brought these cases before the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID). This figure does not reflect the actual number of enforced disappearance cases received by the center, as the real number is higher. Rather, this figure only refers to the enforced disappearance cases for which an official disappearance complaint has been submitted.

Among these cases is that of Rafaat Falih, a Syrian refugee who disappeared following his detention by Lebanese authorities in January 2024. CCLS documented the case, pursued legal action before the Lebanese authorities and submitted the case to the UN Working Group.

The first case is the case of Rafaat Falih was subsequently reflected in the UN Working Group’s General Allegation No. 137 concerning Lebanon. The communication addressed concerns relating to recent cases of alleged enforced disappearance and referred specifically to information concerning Falih’s disappearance following his detention at a checkpoint in Tripoli and the subsequent information regarding his transfer to Syria.

The General Allegation is particularly significant because it places recent cases alongside Lebanon’s broader unresolved problem of missing and disappeared persons. It also highlights the continuing need for effective investigations, accountability and measures to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are protected from disappearance.

For CCLS, the reference to the Falih case at the international level demonstrates the importance of documenting individual cases, pursuing domestic remedies and using international human rights mechanisms when national mechanisms fail to provide effective protection.

The second case is the case concerns UNVT-0020, a 30-year-old Lebanese-Brazilian citizen and engineer who was allegedly subjected to enforced disappearance and torture following his arrest by General Security on 16 September 2025. His whereabouts were concealed from his family and lawyer for more than 35 days.

CCLS documented the case, filed a complaint before the Lebanese authorities, and challenged violations of his procedural rights. After his appearance before the First Military Investigating Judge, he reported physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, threats, deprivation of food and water, and coercion to provide confessions. CCLS requested forensic and psychiatric examinations and submitted an urgent communication to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.

On 17 April 2026, CCLS also submitted the case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, raising concerns regarding arbitrary detention, torture, due process violations, and the right to a fair trial. The case demonstrates the importance of documenting violations, pursuing domestic remedies, and using international human rights mechanisms when national safeguards fail to provide effective protection.

The third case concerns UNVT-0017, a 32-year-old Syrian daily worker who was arrested by the Intelligence Directorate of the Lebanese Army on 14 October 2025. He was detained at the Ministry of Defense facility in Baabda and later transferred to the Syrian authorities, where he remained detained until his release on 20 January 2026.

CCLS documented the case, filed a complaint concerning his enforced disappearance, and submitted an urgent communication to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. The case raised concerns regarding enforced disappearance, limited access to legal safeguards, and allegations of torture during his detention in Lebanon.

Lebanon must strengthen its legal and institutional framework

CCLS calls on the Lebanese authorities to take concrete steps to prevent enforced disappearances and address both historical and recent cases.

• Lebanon should ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance without further delay.
• Lebanon must fully implement Law No. 105/2018 and ensure that the National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared is genuinely operational, independent and adequately resourced.
• Lebanon must strengthen safeguards against enforced disappearance and guarantee the rights of persons deprived of liberty and their families.

The right to truth cannot be postponed indefinitely

Enforced disappearance has devastating consequences not only for the person who disappears, but also for their families and communities. It leaves families trapped between hope and uncertainty, often for decades, while denying them the most basic information about the fate of their loved ones.

The experience of recent cases documented by CCLS, including the case of Rafaat Falih and its subsequent consideration by the UN Working Group, demonstrates that enforced disappearance cannot be treated solely as an issue belonging to Lebanon’s past.

On this International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, CCLS calls on Lebanon to move from recognition to implementation, from promises to effective investigations, and from uncertainty to truth.

Every disappeared person has a right to be found. Every family has a right to know. And every victim has a right to justice.