October 23, 2026
In a step with a profound humanitarian and symbolic dimension that touches on one of the most painful remnants of the civil war, the “National Commission for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared” welcomed the Cabinet’s decision to declare April 13 of each year as a National Day for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in Lebanon. The Commission considered, in a statement issued by it, that this decision constitutes a turning point in the path of a long struggle that families have been waging for decades to uncover the fate of their children, stressing that it came in response to a request made by the Commission and to which the families of the missing clung to throughout the long years of waiting without decisive answers.
The Commission explained that choosing the date of April 13 carries a very symbolic significance because it is linked to the anniversary of the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975, and the human tragedies it caused that continue to this day, most notably the file of the forcibly disappeared. She stressed the need for commemorating this day to become an annual station to renew the national and moral commitment to revealing the fate of all missing persons, and to push official and societal efforts towards ensuring the inherent right of families to know the truth, based on the provisions of Law No. 105/2018, which was approved to regulate this humanitarian file.
At the conclusion of its statement, the Commission noted the Council of Ministers’ response to its efforts, stressing its intention to continue coordination and cooperation with the concerned official authorities, the families of the victims, and partners, with the aim of translating this political and moral support into practical steps that end decades of ambiguity, and return this pending file to the forefront of official and humanitarian completion.
