Some 500 victims of the 1995 fall of Srebrenica, recovered from mass graves across eastern Bosnia, were buried today at the Potocari Cemetery just outside Srebrenica, their identities established by DNA testing conducted by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).The memorial ceremony marking the eleventh anniversary of the fall of Srebrenica is allowing family members to bury their dead with dignity, the fate of their missing loved ones finally resolved. Of the 7,789 Srebrenica victims in the ICMP database, for whom family members have come forward and given a blood sample for DNA identification, 2,636 have been identified to date.
ICMP DNA Identification of 10,000th Victim
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) passed a major milestone Wednesday, when it recorded 10,000 DNA matches for victims of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The 10,000th missing person to be identified using ICMP's unique DNA-led system was a man missing from Prozor, in Central Bosnia, since 1993. The ICMP DNA match report, which indicates the identity of the man with a certainty of 99.99987 per cent, will be forwarded to the local court-appointed pathologist in Sarajevo, who will conduct an official post-mortem examination and make the final, legal identification. The remains will then be returned to the missing man's family.
Guidebook for the families of the missing to contribute to the more efficient implementation of the Law on Missing Persons in BiH
In order to facilitate the access to information, justice and guaranteed rights to the family members of the missing persons, as well as improve the understanding of the Law on Missing Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina and its practical implementation, Guidebook for the families of the missing was created.
Representatives of the BiH Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) have today presented the Guidebook at the press conference in Sarajevo, attended by the representatives of the associations of the families of the missing.
Final Repatriation of Kosovo Albanians mortal remains
The consignment of 110 body bags with mortal remains of Kosovo Albanians is the final one arriving from Belgrade to Kosovo. From the first repatriation from Serbia in November 2002, authorities of Serbia in 19 contingents return to Kosovo 729 identified persons. Some of mortal remains are not identified, and the DNA technology of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) will be applied in their cases. The ICMP's DNA analysis was used in the process of identification of the mortal remains that Serbian authorities repatriated today to Kosovo.
These mortal remains have been exhumed from Batajnica and Perućac mass graves. ICMP anthropologists and archeologists assisted in the excavations in 2001 and 2002. With today's consignment, all remains exhumed on Serbian proper, related to Kosovo conflict, have been repatriated to Kosovo where additional postmortem autopsy will be conducted by UNMIK before returning the bodies to families for burial. …
ICMP Marks Ten Year Anniversary
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) marks its tenth anniversary today. During its first ten years, ICMP has developed a unique, comprehensive and effective system to address missing persons issues around the world, combining political experience with cutting edge scientific expertise and proficiency in building civil society structures.
To commemorate the ten-year anniversary, a special event was held in Washington D.C. on June 27th and was hosted by ICMP's Commissioners, James Kimsey (ICMP Chairman and founder of AOL), Her Majesty Queen Noor, Michael Portillo (former UK Secretary of Defence), Willem Kok (former Prime Minister of The Netherlands) and Rolf Ekeus (OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities). ICMP began events to mark the anniversary in April, with a roundtable on mechanisms for pursuing justice and human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina and will continue with conferences, meetings, exhibitions and receptions during the coming months.
NATO Commander Recognizes Importance Of Resolving Fate of Missing
The Commander of NATO in Bosnia and Herzegovina, US Brigadier General Louis Weber was moved today after visiting an exhumation site near Zvornik where the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) assists in excavations.
The site, Čančari 10, is a known secondary site previously identified by the International Crime Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 1998. ICMP experts performed geophysical analysis in August 2005 prior to its excavation. Resistivity testing revealed additional information on the grave.
EUFOR Commander Applauds Work of ICMP
During a visit to International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) facilities in Tuzla on Friday, the Commander of the European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Major General Gian Marco Chiarini, said he was impressed by work of the organization.
General Chiarini visited ICMP's Podrinje Identification Project, where forensic anthropologists and pathologists examine, store and make final identifications of mortal remains of thousands of missing persons, all of which are cases related to the fall of Srebrenica in 1995, finally returning the remains to their families.
Council of Ministers Chairman Visits ICMP in Tuzla
During a visit to facilities of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in Tuzla, eastern Bosnia, today, Chairman of the Bosnia-Herzegovina Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic stressed that families had a right to know the truth about their missing loved ones.Mr. Terzic thanked family members for their patience and for their commitment to the process of resolving the fate of the missing. Without that commitment, he said, so much progress could not have been made.
OIC Visit to ICMP Facilities in Tuzla
The Director of the Political Affairs Department at the General Secretariat of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Zamel Saeedi, on Monday said he was impressed with the accomplishments of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) following a tour of ICMP facilities in Tuzla and Lukavac, in eastern Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Addressing the media at the end of his tour, Mr. Saeedi said that exhumations are being carried out in Iraq, but he would like to see them carried out according to ICMP standards and practices. This was the first visit of an Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) high official to ICMP facilities.
Search Not Over for Kosovo Missing
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Agim Ceku, and Chief of Staff of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) Kathryne Bomberger met yesterday in Pristina to discuss the issue of the missing from the Kosovo conflict. During the meeting, Ms. Bomberger said that through the use of ICMP's DNA-assisted identification process, ICMP estimated that at least 1,500 mortal remains are still unaccounted for from the conflict.