Erbil, 25 May 2023 – Today, on International Missing Children’s Day, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) joined the Halabja Chemical Attack Victims Association for a commemorative event. This brought together families to honor the memory of their loved ones who went missing during the attack on the city of Halabja in 1988 with chemical weapons. The families also had the opportunity to meet with members of the Committee on the Fate of Missing Children of Halabja established by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and Members of Parliament from the Kurdistan Region to discuss the work of the Committee in fostering collaboration between all stakeholders.

“During the chemical attack on Halabja city on March 16, 1988, more than 400 children went missing. Families of the missing children in Halabja place their hope in the efforts of KRG’s newly established committee to clarify the fate of their loved ones and…

The Hague, 15 May 2023: Families of the missing are the key stakeholders in an effective missing persons process and must play a central role in the process if it is to succeed, participants agreed at a two-day series of discussions and briefings facilitated by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) this week. ICMP experts and representatives of Iraqi institutions – the Martyrs’ Foundation (Mass Grave Directorate) and the Ministry of Health (Medico-Legal Directorate) – took part in the discussions.

During the two-day event, ICMP presented the Iraqi Guide for Families of the Missing, which lays out the rights of families and the key elements of a sustainable and effective process, and participants visited ICMP’s Human Identification laboratory at its Headquarters in The Hague.

This week’s series follows a commemorative event on the Rights of Yazidi Families of the Missing, held on 10-11 December 2021. The event included…