The Committee Of The Families Of The Kidnapped And Disappeared
Developed By:
Beyond Group
In Partnership With:
Counterpart International
2020
The Committee Of The Families Of The Kidnapped and Disappeared
Advocacy Case Study Analysis
CASE STUDIES IN LEBANESE CIVIL SOCIETY ADVOCACY
Within the framework of the USAID Baladi CAP project, Counterpart International supported a research project on civil society advocacy in Lebanon, with the goal of broadening the democratic space for citizen participation in public affairs by creating platforms for informed public debate and increased citizen engagement outside of sectarian and confessional lines. Selected through an open competition, BRD undertook a mapping of advocacy campaigns in Lebanon 2013-18 and together with Counterpart developed five case studies in an effort to highlight best practices and common factors contributing to civil society advocacy’s success or failure and enhancing an understanding of the needs of CSOs working on advocacy to further advance rights and reform in Lebanon.
CASE STUDY CAMPAIGN ISSUE AND CONTEXT
Every April 13th for the past 30 years, under the slogan ‘‘Let It Be Remembered, Not Repeated’’, Lebanese commemorate the civil war that began on April 13th, 1975 and lasted until 1990. The slogan was initially coined by the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared, an organization fighting for relatives who were kidnapped and arbitrarily detained in Syria or Israel during the war and continue to be detained, many since 1982.
Since the last census in the 1990s, a total of 17,415 individuals disappeared during and after the war. Some were forcibly disappeared by militias during the civil war, others were taken when the Syrian army came into Beirut (1975-1990) and still others by the Israelis over the different rounds of war (1982-1990).
This situation has left many families in very difficult mental and physical conditions. The uncertainty of the fate of the disappeared makes it impossible to fully grieve, especially when families have proof (from victims who were released, or politicians or military figures they are close to) that their loved ones are still alive and detained in Syria or Israel.
In 1982, the families’ determination brought them together to form the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared. The motivation to create the group came from Wadad Halawani, an activist whose husband was kidnapped in 1982 and who called upon the families and other advocates to work together to call for the release of the disappeared. The group has been fighting tirelessly for this cause since then. There are similar initiatives dedicated to this cause, however, this case study focuses only on the work of the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Disappeared (CFKD) and their efforts to demand information about their loved ones being held in Syria and Israel.