Monthly Archives: April 2019

Western Balkans Countries Agree On Next Steps in Missing Persons Process

Filed under Press Releases

Zagreb 18 April 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has convened the second meeting of the Missing Persons Group (MPG). The group consists of senior representatives of the institutions responsible for missing persons issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia and has a role in supervising operations under the Framework Plan signed in November 2018 in The Hague.

Matthew Holliday, the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, highlighted the fruitful cooperation of all the representatives participating in the meeting. Noting that trust among stakeholders in the region is essential to account for the estimated 12,000 missing persons cases that are still outstanding, he said, “with financial support from the United Kingdom Government we will continue to work with government institutions and with family associations to enhance regional cooperation in order to identify as many as possible of those who are still missing. All the parties…

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ICMP’s Experience & Resources Can Support Mexico In Establishing an Effective Missing Persons Process

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The Hague, 15 April 2019: ICMP is working with partners from the state of Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico to develop an effective missing persons process that could in future serve as a model for other Mexican states.

Under a project launched in December last year and supported by USAID, ICMP is working with Citizens in Support of Human Rights (CADHAC), an NGO in Nuevo Leon, to support a process that brings domestic authorities together with families of the missing in a way that builds trust, facilitates information sharing, and sustains an effective effort to account for the missing. ICMP is assisting the Prosecutor’s Office with database technology and Science & Technology expertise.

Nuevo Leon Prosecutor General Gustavo Adolfo Guerrero Gutierrez, CADHAC Executive Director Sister Consuelo Morales, and Bárbara Pérez-Martínez from USAID Mexico, along with colleagues from the prosecutor’s office and CADHAC, have completed an…

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Effective Missing Persons Process in Iraq Depends on All Stakeholders Working Together   

Filed under Press Releases

Baghdad, 13 April 2019: The Deputy Head of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) program in Iraq, Fawaz Abdulabbas Abdulameer, noted today that ICMP’s experience in different parts of the world shows conclusively that an effective missing persons process depends on families and officials working closely together. 

“Families must know their rights, to the truth, to justice and to reparations, and they must be supported when they exercise these rights,” Mr Abdulabbas Abdulameer said, adding that “Government officials who are responsible for accounting for the missing 

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ICMP Supports Iraqi National Team In Recovery Operations in Sinjar

Filed under Press Releases

Baghdad, 12 April 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is providing technical expertise and resources to support the Iraqi National Team at the mass grave excavation that resumed today in Kocho village near the town of Sinjar in Nineveh Province, northern Iraq.

ICMP forensic experts are working alongside personnel from the Mass Graves Department of the Iraqi Martyrs’ Foundation, the Medico-Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Health, the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs and the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Da’esh. This effort is being coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. This activity was supported by the European Union Foreign Policy Instrument, the US Department of State and Canada.

In addition to field support, ICMP has provided the National Team with training in relation to locating and documenting mass graves. It is also supporting anthropologists from…

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Sweden Supports ICMP in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Filed under Press Releases

Sarajevo, 2 April 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the Embassy of Sweden in Sarajevo have signed an agreement under which Sweden will provide an additional 100.000 Euros to support ICMP’s program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Including this additional funding, since 2002 Sweden has provided 23.000.000 SEK to support ICMP’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“This new grant is part of Sweden’s long-term assistance for ICMP’s contribution to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s effort to account for the missing and to uphold the rights of survivors,” Marie Bergstrom, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, said today. “Accounting for those who are still missing is a crucial element in maintaining peace and stability. ICMP provides the authorities with targeted and effective assistance and this is why Sweden is supporting its program in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Matthew Holliday, the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, thanked the Swedish…

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