HOSTAGE AID WORLDWIDE INC

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPT PURPOSE ACHIEVEMENTS: MOBILE APP WORKED ON REVAMPING ITS MOBILE APP FOR APPLE AND ANDROID DEVICES, WHICH INCLUDES FEATURES SUCH AS THE HOSTAGE METRICS ENGINE AND HOSTAGE RISK PREDICTOR. HOSTAGE METRICS ENGINE CONTINUED TO EXPAND THE HOSTAGE METRICS ENGINE (HME), THE LARGEST COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE OF KNOWN HOSTAGES AND UNLAWFULLY DETAINED PERSONS GLOBALLY SINCE 1979, BEGINNING WITH THE IRAN HOSTAGE CRISIS. COMPILED FROM MILLIONS OF RECORDS, THE HME ACCUMULATES AND ORGANIZES REAL-TIME DATA ON ARRESTS, DETENTIONS, KIDNAPPINGS, RELEASES, AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. IT FEATURES AN INTUITIVE INTERFACE THAT ALLOWS USERS TO FILTER INFORMATION BY COUNTRY, DATE, LEGAL STATUS, AND OUTCOME, ENABLING STAKEHOLDERS TO QUICKLY ACCESS RELEVANT CASE DETAILS AND HISTORICAL DATA. HOSTAGE RISK PREDICTOR CONTINUED TO ENHANCE THE HOSTAGE RISK PREDICTOR, AN ADVANCED ANALYTICAL TOOL DESIGNED TO EVALUATE AND PREDICT THE LIKELIHOOD OF INDIVIDUALS BEING TAKEN HOSTAGE OR UNLAWFULLY DETAINED ABROAD. LEVERAGING THE VAST DATASET FROM THE HOSTAGE METRICS ENGINE, THE PREDICTOR USES SOPHISTICATED ALGORITHMS TO ANALYZE PATTERNS, GEOPOLITICAL RISKS, AND OTHER RELEVANT FACTORS INCLUDING TRAVEL DESTINATIONS, PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES, POLITICAL CLIMATES, AND KNOWN THREATS IN SPECIFIC REGIONS, TO CALCULATE A RISK SCORE. THIS SCORE HELPS INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT TRAVEL AND OPERATIONS IN POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS AREAS. HOSTAGE ALLIANCE DELEGATION TO EU HOSTAGE AID ORGANIZED A LARGE DELEGATION OF EU FORMER HOSTAGES AND FAMILIES OF CURRENT EU HOSTAGES. HOSTAGE AID AND THE DELEGATION TRAVELED TO BRUSSELS IN JULY 2024, AND MET WITH EU OFFICIALS AND PARLIAMENTARIANS TO RAISE AWARENESS ON THIS MATTER, ADVOCATE FOR EUROPEANS STILL UNLAWFULLY DETAINED ABROAD AND URGE THE EU TO ADVOCATE FOR THEIR ARBITRARILY DETAINED CITIZENS AS A STRONG UNIFIED BODY, RATHER THAN AS SINGULAR GOVERNMENTS. EFFORTS ALSO BEGAN TOWARDS FACILITATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN EU WORKING GROUP OF PARLIAMENTARIANS TO FOCUS ON THE ISSUE OF HOSTAGES. UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY UNGA79 SIDE EVENT HOSTAGE AID HOSTED ITS ANNUAL UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY SIDE EVENT ON COUNTERING HOSTAGE-TAKING, IN NEW YORK DURING UNGA'S HIGH LEVEL WEEK. THIS EVENT WAS ATTENDED BY AMBASSADORS AND PERMANENT MISSIONS OF OVER 20 COUNTRIES, WITH A KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY THE UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTNIO GUTERRES. MODERATED BY BOB RAE, CANADA'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UN AND PRESIDENT OF THE UN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL, THE EVENT FEATURED HIGH-LEVEL ADDRESSES FROM CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MLANIE JOLY AND U.S. AMBASSADOR DOROTHY SHEA, ALONG WITH UK AMBASSADOR DAME BARBARA WOODWARD, GERMAN AMBASSADOR THOMAS ZAHNEISEN, AND ARGENTINE AMBASSADOR RICARDO LAGORIO. ATTENDEES INCLUDED DIPLOMATS FROM MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD, REPRESENTING COUNTRIES SUCH AS ALBANIA, GERMANY, NORWAY,ZIMBABWE, VENEZUELA, NIGERIA, AND MANY OTHERS. MANY FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES AND FORMER HOSTAGES ATTENDED AND PARTICIPATED IN THE EVENT, INCLUDING SHAKED HARAN (FAMILY OF HOSTAGE IN GAZA) AND DEBRA TICE (MOTHER OF HOSTAGE AUSTIN TICE). THE EVENT CONCLUDED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, INCLUDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A UN WORKING GROUP, THE APPOINTMENT OF A UN SPECIAL ENVOY FOR HOSTAGE AFFAIRS, AND THE EXPLORATION OF LEGAL FRAMEWORKS SUCH AS THE RENEWAL OF THE 1979 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION AGAINST THE TAKING OF HOSTAGES, AIMED AT FOSTERING GLOBAL COOPERATION TO PREVENT AND RESOLVE HOSTAGE CRISES. GAZA HOSTAGES HOSTAGE AID WORKED TIRELESSLY WITH THE EU, THE UN, U.S. OFFICIALS, AND VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS AND CAMPAIGNED FOR THE FREEDOM OF THE AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN HOSTAGES HELD BY HAMAS IN GAZA. HOSTAGE AID RAISED AWARENESS TO THE HUMANITARIAN DIMENSION OF THIS CRISIS, BEYOND ANY POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS, AND ENCOURAGED INTERNATIONAL ACTION FOR THE RELEASE OF THE HOSTAGES. IN PARALLEL, HOSTAGE AID CLOSELY SUPPORTED HOSTAGE FAMILIES AND CONSISTENTLY ADVOCATED FOR THE FREEDOM OF ALL HOSTAGES HELD IN GAZA. ALONGSIDE OTHERS, HOSTAGE AID'S EFFORTS HELPED DRAW GLOBAL ATTENTION TO THE HUMANITARIAN ASPECT AND PLIGHT OF THE HOSTAGES, THE UNACCEPTABLE CRIME OF HOSTAGE-TAKING AND THE PRESSING RESPONSIBILITY AND OBLIGATION TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. HOSTAGE AID WAS ALSO DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN ENGAGING PRESIDENT TRUMP IN THE CAMPAIGN TO FREE THE HOSTAGES AND WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ARRANGING A MEETING BETWEEN FORMER GAZA HOSTAGES AND PRESIDENT TRUMP. HOSTAGE AID'S EFFORTS PLAYED A CRITICAL ROLE IN FREEING THE HOSTAGES. "FREE AUSTIN TICE" CAMPAIGN IN 2024, HOSTAGE AID LAUNCHED A MULTIMEDIA CAMPAIGN ACROSS THE MENA REGION, PARTICULARLY IN SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, TO SEARCH FOR THE WHEREABOUTS OF AMERICAN AUSTIN TICE. THE CAMPAIGN REACHED MILLIONS OF PEOPLE THROUGH ONLINE, TV AND RADIO ADS GENERATING THOUSANDS OF TIPS. THE FIRST PHASE OF THE CAMPAIGN FOCUSED ON GENERATING AWARENESS. HOSTAGE AID ESTABLISHED MULTIPLE COMMUNICATION CHANNELS, INCLUDING TELEGRAM, EMAIL, AN ONLINE TIP SUBMISSION FORM, INSTAGRAM, AND OTHER PLATFORMS. IT ENGAGED THIRTEEN LEBANESE RADIO STATIONS TO AIR MESSAGES CALLING FOR INFORMATION ON AUSTIN, AND PARTNERED WITH LEBANON'S LEADING TELEVISION NETWORK WITH SIGNIFICANT VIEWERSHIP IN SYRIA, TO BROADCAST VIDEO MESSAGES EVERY HOUR. ADDITIONALLY, HOSTAGE AID LAUNCHED CONTINUOUS META ADS, DEPLOYED CONTEXTUAL ONLINE ADS, AND COLLABORATED WITH SYRIAN NEWS AGENCIES TO FEATURE BANNERS AND VOICE-OVER APPEALS URGING ANYONE WITH CREDIBLE INFORMATION TO COME FORWARD. IN THE SECOND PHASE, BUILDING ON THE INITIAL EFFORTS, HOSTAGE AID LAUNCHED A DIRECT SMS OUTREACH CAMPAIGN, REACHING MORE THAN 37.5 MILLION PHONE NUMBERS ACROSS SYRIA AND NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES, ENCOURAGING RECIPIENTS TO SUBMIT ANY TIPS OR INFORMATION THAT COULD HELP LOCATE AUSTIN TICE. THIS NEW APPROACH TO IN-COUNTRY ADVOCACY HAS PROVEN TO BE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE CASE OF AMERICAN TRAVIS TIMMERMAN WHO WAS FOUND IN SYRIA AND IDENTIFIED THANKS TO AWARENESS GENERATED BY THIS CAMPAIGN. ANNUAL GLOBAL HOSTAGE REPORT HOSTAGE AID WORLDWIDE ISSUED ITS 2024 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL REPORT ON THE LATEST DATA, TRENDS, AND ANALYSIS IN HOSTAGE-TAKING AND UNLAWFUL DETENTION AROUND THE WORLD. THE 2024 REPORT INCLUDES KEY EVENTS THAT HAVE SHAPED THE LANDSCAPE OF HOSTAGE DIPLOMACY AND EMPLOYS ADVANCED DATA ANALYTICS TO UNCOVER GLOBAL PATTERNS IN ARRESTS, DETENTIONS, AND RELEASES. THE REPORT ALSO PROVIDES IN-DEPTH CASE ANALYSIS AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS TO STRENGTHEN PREVENTION, ADVOCACY, AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION. RAPID RESPONSE: HOSTAGE AID IN SYRIA WHEN THE ASSAD REGIME COLLAPSED IN EARLY DECEMBER 2024, HOSTAGE AID WAS ON THE GROUND IMMEDIATELY TO FOLLOW UP ON LEADS AND INTEL IN THE SEARCH FOR AUSTIN TICE AND OTHER AMERICANS OR FOREIGNERS FORCIBLY DISAPPEARED IN SYRIA. THIS MISSION INVOLVED INSPECTING DIFFERENT PRISON LOCATIONS, UNDERGROUND TUNNELS, DUNGEONS, MILITARY COMPOUNDS, AND SECRET DETENTION FACILITIES AND SAFEHOUSES. THE TEAM NAVIGATED PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS, INCLUDING MAZE-LIKE TUNNELS AND FLOODED AREAS. KEY SITES WERE THOROUGHLY INVESTIGATED, SUCH AS MAZZEH PRISON, THE OFFICE OF JAMIL HASSAN (FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE), THE TUNNELS UNDER MAHER AL ASSAD'S HOUSE, AND BRANCHES OF SYRIAN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, INCLUDING 215, 235, AND 248, WHERE TUNNELS BENEATH THE CARLTON HOTEL WERE ALSO EXPLORED. IN MOUNT QASIOUN, THEY INSPECTED THE REPUBLICAN GUARD SITE, FOURTH DIVISION COMPOUNDS, AND SEDNAYA PRISON. ADDITIONAL INSPECTIONS WERE CONDUCTED AT THE NATIONAL SECURITY BUILDING, WHICH HOSTAGE AID WAS THE FIRST TO ACCESS, AND THE GENERAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTORATE, WHERE THEY FOUND ADVANCED MONITORING SYSTEMS AND WELL-MAINTAINED CELLS. THE TEAM ALSO THOROUGHLY INSPECTED OTHER SITES, INCLUDING THE "PRISON OF DEATH," VARIOUS SITES IN THE HARASTA REGION, "TOMB OF THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER", AND THE HOUSE OF QASSEM SOLEIMANI.THE TEAM ALSO ENCOUNTERED SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WITH THE OVERWHELMING VOLUME OF MATERIALS AND FILES THEY FOUND. WHILE THEY WERE ABLE TO REVIEW SOME DOCUMENTS LOCATED AT SEVERAL SITES, THE HUGE NUMBER OF FILES, MOSTLY DISORGANIZED AND SCATTERED, COMPLICATED THE PROCESS. THESE DOCUMENTS HOLD CRUCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FATE OF COUNTLESS FOREIGN PRISONERS. THE HOSTAGE AID TEAM ALSO MET WITH VARIOUS LEADERS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN BEIRUT AND SYRIA TO GARNER SUPPORT AND FURTHER INFORMATION IN THEIR QUEST TO FIND ANSWERS.