Washington, DC - Senior representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and others concerned about the situation in Syria were briefed by Syrian human rights activists from the Center for Civil Society and Democracy in Syria, the Syrian Network for Human Rights, Families for Freedom, and the Syria Justice and Accountability Center on the estimated 210,000 individuals detained, 85,000 disappeared, and 14,000 tortured since the start of the conflict in Syria.

The group stressed that the Assad regime used widespread torture and detention prior to the uprising to retain control of the population and targeted perceived opponents and their families. It will continue to do so as a means of retaining control and instilling fear in the hearts of Syrians. It was noted that the numerous UN resolutions since 2011 have called for unfettered access to regime detention facilities by a neutral party, condemned the regime’s egregious conditions in detention facilities, and called for the release of detainees and the integration of detainees and missing persons concerns into all aspects of the UN-led political process.