Hostage International CEO, Lara Symons, speaks alongside families and former hostages in Brussels

On 14 October 2026, Hostage International CEO, Lara Symons was in Brussels to attend the Protecting Europeans Arbitrarily Detained Abroad conference.

The event aimed to present and discuss a motion for a resolution to strengthen government responses to European citizens affected by arbitrary detention and to improve diplomatic coordination between EU Member States.

Experts and governmental officials joined together at the conference to hear from former arbitrary detainees and family members who shared their experiences and highlighted the profound impact that arbitrary detention has on individuals and their loved ones.

As part of the conference, Lara contributed to a roundtable with a panel of experts discussing ‘Establishing a European framework on arbitrary detention’. 

Hosted by MEP Jean Marc Germain, the panel also included Candace Bryan Abbey, Human Rights Foundation, Julie Majerczak, Reporters sans Frontières, Olivier Vandercasteele, Protect Humanitarians.

Below is Lara’s statement to the roundtable.

Thank you, Jean Marc for bringing this resolution to the European parliament and to your fellow MEPS.

What we’ve heard from people who have lived through arbitrary detention is very emotive, it’s not news to me, but what stands out the most from what we’ve heard is the huge injustice that not only do arbitrary detainees live, but also their families. This is compounded by the impunity of detaining states and is also compounded by the lack of recognition and acknowledgement of home governments, both to families and to the returning detainees. Not in all cases, but in many cases we’ve heard. So we are facing a case of impunity, injustice, and no actual remedy as we know of yet.

What has surprised me about what we’ve heard this evening? Well, nothing. Nothing has surprised me because Hostage International, the charity I’m the CEO of, walks alongside families in these cases, sees their suffering, sees the challenges they face, the difficulties, the uncertainties and the difficulties explained in the aftermath. For the families, but also the arbitrary detainees. So, these challenges raised aren’t news to us but are highly recognised by us and we therefore seek to address them as best we can as a civil society organisation.

What do we do? We can provide a personal contact for families to give dedicated personal support, we can draw on our expertise of working across many countries to explain what is happening, explain what governments can and cannot do and where the challenges lie, but we also can help them access tailored psychological support, assist with media advice, legal assistance, and administrative support. There are lots of things that civil society can do and we are on it, as you’ve heard before. We have supported many people in this room and we have supported many people who are not in this room. Sadly, some of the people in this room have fallen through the gaps and I find that very very painful to hear. But civil society cannot address all of the problems that families and their loved ones face. There are some things that only governments can do because governments are at the forefront of the resolution of an arbitrary detention. Only they can provide reassurance to the families of the efforts being made to secure, or safeguard, the wellbeing of those who are being detained. Only governments can provide updates to families on what is being done to get their loved ones home, if progress is being made versus not being made, and this should be done regularly, should be done sensitively and even when there is no news, governments must continue to be in contact with families and keep them informed.

There are elements in the aftermath we’ve seen how little support some former hostages, detainees, have had and there are things that civil society can address. But, there are some things that only governments can do. For example, the impact on pensions or social security payments that result from a prolonged absence are one which is outside of the detainee’s control. This can only be addressed by states. And, going back to injustice, governments are best placed to address injustice because accountability for what has happened is also tied up with the resolution. People who have been through an arbitrary detention deserve to hear what was done to get them home, to understand it, but first and foremost they deserve the recognition of their governments that they were victims and they deserve support in order to recuperate from what they’ve been through, both the families and the former arbitrary detainees.

So, we have seen a lot of different responses from governments across Europe, some better than others, but we see an inconsistency not only across Europe but within individual states, and that inconsistency exacerbates injustice. So, if the European Union can set a standard for government response and support an acknowledgement for former arbitrary detainees and their families then that is one big step forward.

Lara has been CEO of Hostage International since February 2017 and previously worked in crisis response. She has exceptional knowledge of hostage trends and an understanding of the impact that hostage situations have on both former hostages, families, and corporates. She has not only overseen around 600 cases at Hostage International in her role as CEO, but has also directly assisted hundreds of families affected by hostage situations, including arbitrary detentions, and in supporting former hostages. 

October 2026