Monthly Archives: October 2021

ICMP Publishes an Overview of Efforts to Account for Missing Persons in Croatia

22 October 2021 – The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) presented a detailed account of progress in accounting for those who went missing during the conflict in Croatia, together with recommendations on how more progress can be achieved.

The report Croatia, Missing Persons from the 1991-1995 Armed Conflict: A Stocktaking published today considers the rights of victims and examines the roles of institutions involved in the process. It analyses how the issue of the missing, including in relation to justice, has been addressed to date, and it examines prospects for resolving the remaining cases.

“After the 1990s conflict, Croatia and other countries in the region have managed to account for an unprecedented number of missing persons, with the ICMP assistance. It is important to continue the efforts to locate and identify the remaining missing in line with the rule of law in order to secure the rights of all…

ICMP Facilitated Syria Policy Coordination Group Recommends Constitutional Provisions For Missing and Disappeared Persons

The Hague, 5 October 2021: Members of the Policy Coordination Group (PCG) for Missing and Disappeared Persons in Syria have recommended adoption of a set of provisions in a future Syrian constitution to enable a sustainable and just process to account for more than 100,000 persons missing from the on-going conflict.

These recommendations include guarantees related to the right to a fair trial, protection of the physical and mental integrity of those under detention or arrest, reform of the security services, the independence of the judiciary, and transitional justice measures, including the establishment of a Syrian Commission on Missing Persons and purpose specific legislation designed to secure the rights of relatives of the missing to just, truth and reparations.

The PCG is a Syrian-led policy process composed of 27 Syrian family associations, civil society organizations, and legal and human rights defenders as well as international advisors. The PCG aims to develop broad…

Sweden Provides Support to ICMP’s Global Work

The Hague, 4 October 2021: – In its continuing support to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden has donated SEK 2 million (€200,000) to help address the global challenge of missing and disappeared persons. Sweden is a member of ICMP’s Conference of States Parties and an original signatory state of the ICMP Treaty.

“Today, across Latin America, in the Mediterranean, and across South and Southeast Asia, tens of thousands of people are missing as a result of irregular migration. More than 100,000 people have disappeared from the conflict in Syria, inside the country or on dangerous routes taken by desperate Syrian refugee, and thousands are reported missing as a result of the enforced disappearance and mass displacement of Rohingya from northern Myanmar,” said Rolf Ekeus, ICMP Commissioner. “Countries such as Iraq, Sri Lanka, Burundi, Rwanda, and Vietnam are striving to address a…