Several countries of the southern and eastern coast of the Mediterranean are affected by the phenomenon of enforced disappearances. Even if the context differs for each of them, it is the same suffering and need for truth that unites the families of the disappeared of this region. It is also clear that the way people are kidnapped, the motives and the answers brought to the families by the authorities are very similar.

In Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon and Turkey the families of disappeared continuously work to clarify the fate of the disappeared and to prevent the practice of enforced disappearances by mobilizing the national and international public opinions. It is the same case for several other countries in the region, but human right defenders supporting the cause of families of disappeared at the national and international level are isolated by the authorities’ repressive actions, like in Syria and Libya for instance.

In the Middle East, disappearances are common practice under several regimes. There are many cases in Iraq, committed by the past regime (the UNWGEID received 16,514 cases). There are also many cases in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Iran and in other countries of the region. In some of these countries organisations of families do exist, and need to be supported.

In many countries where people have disappeared, their families constituted committees of relatives of disappeared persons. To be able to accomplish more, these family associations and human rights defenders have joined their efforts to constitute a ‘Euro Mediterranean Coalition Against Disappearances’.

Countries of these regions which have a history of enforced disappearances are:

Iran, Algeria, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan

The countries with the most prominent record of this violation of human rights are:

The following organisations work on the issue of enforced disappearances in the region of North Africa and Middle East: