As Syria emerges from over a decade of brutal conflict, a new chapter is beginning in the search for the tens of thousands who went missing during more than 50 years of dictatorship.
For the first time since it was established in 2023, investigators from the UN Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP) has been able to access Syria, following the fall of the Assad regime in December last year.
In an exclusive interview with UN News, the head of the General Assembly-mandated body, Karla Quintana, described her moving encounters with family members crying out for justice - and the importance of accessing infamous sites of imprisonment and torture, in search of the truth.
"The scale is overwhelming…everyone knows someone who is missing," she says, outlining the hopes, challenges and urgent need to find closure for a Syria in transition.
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
