Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has launched an online portal called “Missing Person/Detainee Report” to document reports of missing persons and detainees outside Syria.
Mohammad Yaqoub al-Omar, director of the Consular Affairs Department at Syria’s Foreign Ministry, told Enab Baladi that the portal is an integrated digital platform available through the ministry’s official application, MOFA SY. It allows relatives of missing persons and detainees outside Syria, or their legal representatives, to submit reports directly.
Applications are submitted by entering detailed and accurate information about each case. Al-Omar said the tool was designed to serve as an official and secure channel that protects the confidentiality and accuracy of information, while also creating a comprehensive national database that can be used to address the issue.
As for how the system works, requests are received directly through the application. The data is then collected in a central system by specialized teams at the ministry, which review and analyze it according to precise professional standards, and prepare clear follow-up tracks on that basis.
Those tracks include official communication with host countries to inquire about the situation of detainees, efforts to facilitate release procedures within legal frameworks, and follow-up on missing persons cases in coordination with the relevant authorities, foremost among them the National Commission for Missing Persons. This comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to address the humanitarian issues facing Syrians abroad.
Data is collected within a central system, after which follow-up tracks are prepared. These include official communication with host countries to inquire about detainees’ status, efforts to facilitate their release through legal channels, and follow-up on missing persons cases.
Mohammad Yaqoub al-Omar
Director of the Consular Affairs Department at Syria’s Foreign Ministry
Moving From an Individual Approach to an Institutional Framework
According to al-Omar, the importance of launching this portal lies in shifting the handling of these cases from a fragmented, individual approach to an organized institutional framework based on precise documentation and systematic analysis.
The platform aims to record and classify cases and understand their legal and humanitarian dimensions, enabling the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates to act effectively through its official diplomatic channels and address each case according to its specific circumstances.
The ministry says the initiative is a key step toward building a comprehensive national approach to this humanitarian file, helping reveal the fate of missing persons, address the situation of detainees, and ease the suffering of their families, to achieve tangible results on the ground, al-Omar concluded.
The Application Within a Digital Transformation Track
The ministry had previously announced the official launch of the MOFA SY application, making it available to users around the world after a trial version was first introduced through the Syrian embassy in Beirut on November 13, 2025.
According to the ministry, the application allows Syrian citizens and expatriates to access a range of ministry services easily and quickly through their smartphones.
The step is part of the ministry’s digital transformation and administrative development plan, which aims to:
- Enable citizens to obtain consular services easily.
- Provide a service befitting Syrian citizens and preserving their dignity wherever they are.
- Close the brokerage file permanently by adopting modern, secure, and transparent electronic systems.
- Achieve fairness and equality in appointment distribution through the official platform without intermediaries.
Technical Updates
On February 11, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced technical updates to the MOFA SY application aimed at improving the speed and transparency of passport issuance for Syrians living outside Syria.
Al-Omar told the state news agency SANA that the new update allows citizens to fill out the passport form electronically through the application before visiting embassies and consulates. He said this helps reduce the time needed to complete the transaction inside consular missions from about an hour and a half to less than 10 minutes.
Al-Omar added that the updates included the launch of an integrated electronic tracking system that allows citizens to follow all stages of their passport application through the app, from “in process” to fingerprint verification and immigration approval, through to notification that the passport is ready for collection. It also sends instant alerts at every stage or when there are notes requiring review.
The post Syria Opens Platform for Missing Persons Abroad appeared first on Enab Baladi.