Matthew Holliday leads the implementation of ICMP’s Ukraine and Western Balkans Programs. He joined ICMP in 2010, and was engaged initially in coordinating ICMP’s Institutional and Civil Society Initiatives, working closely with associations of families of missing persons to empower them to claim their rights to truth and justice.

Matthew has worked intensively on strengthening regional cooperation on the issue of persons missing as a consequence of the armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. This resulted in the establishment of the Missing Persons Group – the first multilateral mechanism of regional cooperation which gathers the government institutions that are responsible for accounting for missing persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia.

Before joining ICMP, Matthew supported the non-governmental sector in the Western Balkans, helping local NGOs to develop programs, projects and initiatives dealing with the legacy of violent conflict and massive and systematic violations of human rights.

Mr Holliday obtained a BA degree in East European Language, Literature and Regional Studies from the School of Slavonic and East European Studies of the University of London and a Master’s degree in History from University College London.