During a National Conference: Minister of Justice Announces Launch of Database for Reporting Missing Persons in Gaza

SadaNews - Minister of Justice, Counselor Sharhabil Al-Za'im, announced the launch of a database for registering missing persons in the Gaza Strip.

This announcement came during the events of a national conference titled "Towards a Comprehensive National and Judicial Strategy for Dealing with Missing Persons in the Genocide War in the Gaza Strip," organized by the Palestinian Authority for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law "Independence" in partnership with the Ministry of Justice/National Committee for International Humanitarian Law, which was held today at the Red Crescent Society in Al-Bireh city. This specialized national conference sheds light on the legal and procedural gaps that hinder access to justice for missing persons.

In his speech, Counselor Al-Za'im stated that the issue of missing persons due to the genocide war in the Gaza Strip is not only a humanitarian tragedy but also an exceptional legal and human rights issue that requires an urgent and comprehensive response based on justice criteria and international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions that obligate state parties to take all necessary measures to ascertain the fate of missing persons in armed conflicts and guarantee their families' right to know.

He pointed out that the unprecedented brutal aggression has left hundreds of thousands of martyrs, wounded, prisoners, starving, sick, displaced, and missing, casting a heavy shadow over the judicial and legal systems, leading to the collapse of institutional capacity to ascertain the fate of the missing.

The Minister of Justice added, "Cases of enforced disappearance represent a dual violation; they not only affect the rights of the missing person but also cause ongoing suffering for their family, which amounts to inhumane treatment prohibited under international law." Enforced disappearance and the disappearance of persons in armed conflicts (genocide) constitute a grave violation of international humanitarian law, which has paid special attention to protecting civilians and ensuring the rights of those missing.
The Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and the Additional Protocol I of 1977 stipulated the parties to the conflict's obligation to take all possible measures to ascertain the fate of missing persons and inform their families about their fate.
According to Additional Protocol I, the right of families to know the fate of their relatives must be respected, and states are obligated to establish offices for the missing and coordinate efforts to collect and share information.

Counselor Al-Za'im emphasized that the issue of missing persons is at the core of our national priorities, and we believe that addressing it requires integration between the judicial, legislative, and institutional pathways to ensure a comprehensive review of related legislation and the adoption of unified protocols for documentation, investigation, and discovery, as well as supporting forensic medicine and criminal evidence capabilities.

For his part, Mr. Majid Al-Aarouri, Executive Director of the Palestinian Authority for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Rule of Law "Independence," stressed the need for institutional and judicial measures to follow up on the issue of missing persons due to the genocide war, the most important of which is to form a permanent national committee for the missing and establish a central governmental database for missing persons.

He pointed out that the main issue that prompted the organization of this conference is the thousands of missing persons since the beginning of the genocide war on Gaza (since October 7, 2023), and the lack of a Palestinian legal and administrative strategy to deal with the issue of missing persons and the rights of their families, in addition to the discrepancies in legal frameworks (between the Family Law of 1954 and the draft Personal Status Law of 2025) that have failed to respond to the catastrophic situation.

He clarified that estimates indicate more than 11,200 missing persons, including 4,700 children and women, and the absence of precise official documentation due to the destruction of records and the difficulty of access to information, along with the lack of Israeli transparency regarding detainees and bodies held.

Al-Aarouri appreciated the cooperation and interest of the Ministry of Justice and its swift adoption of the proposal submitted by "Independence" to establish an electronic portal to have an officially recognized judicial record capable of issuing certificates for the report of missing persons, which is an important step that can be built upon to establish the national committee for missing persons.

Via Zoom, Mr. Amjad Al-Shawwa from the Gaza Network of NGOs, and Mr. Agith Sungi from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Palestine spoke at the conference.

During the conference, a report and testimonies about the suffering of the families of missing persons in the Gaza Strip were presented, and the main study author, Dr. Abdul Qader Saber Jaradah, presented the report on "The Rights of the Missing Persons and Their Families - Toward a Comprehensive National Judicial Strategy for Dealing with Missing Persons in the Genocide War in the Gaza Strip."

The national conference witnessed key interventions and remarks facilitated by the legal advisor to the Ministry of Justice, Mr. Yusuf Abdul Samad, from representatives of the Sharia Judiciary Council represented by His Eminence Sheikh Maher Khudair, the Supreme Judicial Council represented by Honorable Judge Ramez Jumour, the Security Forces Judiciary represented by Brigadier General Dr. Raed Taha, and Mr. Anas Al-Kaswani representing the Bar Association, as well as important interventions via Zoom from the Gaza Strip by Ms. Zainab Al-Ghanimi / Center for Research and Legal Consultations, and Mr. Bakar Al-Turkmani / Independent Commission for Human Rights in the Gaza Strip.
In the context of the implementation of the State of Palestine's obligations under international humanitarian law, Deputy Justice Counselor Ahmad Dhbalah, launched the database for registering missing persons in the Gaza Strip through the Ministry of Justice website, which will be available for use in the coming days.