The Hague, 25 March 2021 – The importance of collecting and preserving evidence related to missing persons was a key topic in a second training course for first responders who locate persons missing from the ongoing conflict in Syria, held this week by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

The 22 first responders based in northeast Syria enhanced their capacity to collect forensic evidence and safeguard mass graves and sites of forensic interest during the online four-day course, which ended today. The course covered procedures for DNA sampling of remains, collecting and preserving evidence from mass graves and other measures to support future accountability mechanisms. The course also covered methods to collect, manage and secure data related to the site contents.

Estimates cited by the United Nations in 2021 indicate that over 100,000 persons are missing as a result of the current conflict in Syria. In addition, the country has…

Baghdad, 18 March 2021 – Thirty representatives from as many Iraqi civil society organizations strengthened their ability to assist families of missing persons in the missing persons process, including helping them to report disappearances and apply for compensation, during a two-week International Commission on Missing Person course that ended today.

Sessions during the course, held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic, detailed what families of missing persons in Iraq need to do to report their missing relatives, and what they need to do to apply for compensation under the Iraqi law on Compensating People Affected by War Operations, Military Mistakes, and Terrorist Actions (Law No. 20). The participants represent organizations with extensive experience of assisting families of missing persons located across Iraq.

The Director General of Iraq’s Directorate on Victims of Military Operations, Military Mistakes and Terrorist Operations, Tariq Jehan, and Nawsherwan Sharif Saeed, General Director of Administration and Finance of…

Monterrey, Mexico, 16 March 2021 – The Office of the Prosecutor in the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon (FGJNL) this month received a donation of laboratory equipment and software that strengthens its capacities to make DNA-based identifications of challenging missing persons cases. The donation by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is part of a USAID-funded project that helps the state enhance its capacity to account for missing persons.

Scientists at the Nuevo Leon state prosecutor’s laboratory will use the equipment to establish a dedicated missing persons DNA workflow that includes a new laboratory that will use advanced methods to extract DNA from challenging post mortem samples related to missing persons cases. A new unit will be established to analyse forensic data and to support the matching of victims’ DNA with that shared by the families of the missing.

“State- of-the-art DNA identification of the missing is a highly specialized…

The Hague, 15 March 2021 – A staggering number of persons are missing due to the Syrian conflict, and more people are disappearing as the conflict continues unabated. Ten years after the war erupted, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) reiterated that immediate action is needed to find missing persons and secure the human rights of families of the missing.

With the families of Syria’s missing persons scattered around the globe – many live as refugees in neighbouring countries, in Europe or elsewhere, while others remain in war-torn Syria – the issue of Syria’s missing is a global challenge that demands international attention and action.

A 2021 UN report estimates that 100,000 persons are missing due to the conflict. In addition, the country has a legacy of missing and disappeared persons cases linked to human rights abuses and other causes that occurred prior to the decade-long conflict, and Syrians who have…

Tiranë, 2 Mars 2021 – Në një raport të nisur në një ngjarje online sot, Komisioni Ndërkombëtar për Personat e Zhdukur (ICMP) paraqet kërkime, analiza dhe rekomandime për të përmirësuar përpjekjet e Shqipërisë për të llogaritur personat e zhdukur.

Shqipëria, personat e zhdukur nga periudha komuniste – një vlerësim i nevojave bazohet në kërkimin dhe analizën e legjislacionit që ka të bëjë me dhe institucionet e përfshira në çështjen e personave të zhdukur nga periudha komuniste në Shqipëri, kryer nga ekspertët e ICMP nga 2018 në 2020 me mbështetjen financiare të Bashkimit Evropian (BE).

“Rekomandimet e raportit kërkojnë të sigurojnë që rastet e personave të zhdukur hetohen në mënyrë efektive dhe të drejtat e familjeve të të zhdukurve për të vërtetën, drejtësinë dhe dëmshpërblimet janë mbështetur,” tha Matthew Holliday, Shefi i Programit të Ballkanit Perëndimor të ICMP, gjatë ngjarjes në internet ku morën pjesë përfaqësues të autoriteteve shqiptare dhe komunitetit…

Tirana, 2 March 2021 – In a report launched at an online event today, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) presents research, analysis and recommendations to improve Albania’s efforts to account for missing persons.

Albania, Missing Persons from the Communist Era – A Needs Assessment  is based on research and analysis of legislation pertaining to, and institutions involved in, the issue of persons missing from the communist era in Albania, conducted by ICMP experts from 2018 to 2020 with the financial support of the European Union (EU).

“The report’s recommendations seek to ensure missing persons cases are investigated effectively, and the rights of families of the missing to truth, justice and reparations are upheld,” Matthew Holliday, the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, said during the online launch event, which was attended by representatives of Albanian authorities and the international community.

“The Albanian authorities have a legal obligation to account…