The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) announces today that it has made its 5,000th DNA report since making the first in-country match almost two years ago in Tuzla on 16th November 2001. Also, during September new daily, weekly and monthly records were achieved when 42 reports were made in one day, 134 in one week and 445 during the whole month.In just over three years ICMP teams across the region have collected 50,000 blood samples from the relatives of missing persons. Through collecting these samples ICMP now has the names of over 22,300 missing individuals. However, with a case load of 40,000 missing persons across the region, ICMP needs to collect approximately 100,000 blood samples.

Gordon Bacon, ICMP’s Chief of Staff said: ” There is still a long way to go, but hopefully when family members who have not yet given blood samples hear of these figures it may…