The UN has agreed to set up an independent organisation that will investigate the fate of at least 100,000 people who have gone missing or been forcibly “disappeared” since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, after years of campaigning from family groups. Rights groups say 85 per cent of missing people were detained by the regime. Syria, which has refused to cooperate with the new institution, voted against the resolution in a vote of 83-11 with 62 abstentions. Russia, China, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and Iran also voted no. UN officials say the organisation will serve as a single place to collect and compare data and provide support to families of the missing, as well as survivors of detention.
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