15 December 2104: The Foreign Ministers of the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Belgium, and Luxembourg signed a Framework Agreement on 15 December that grants a new legal status to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

“This Agreement reflects a new international consensus on the issue of missing persons,” ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger said immediately after the signing ceremony. “For decades the problem of missing persons has been treated as a humanitarian issue, or as a disaster-relief issue, or as a war-emergency issue – but it is now recognized as a systemic global challenge that demands a coherent and effective global response.”

Ms. Bomberger said the Agreement gives ICMP the tools it needs in order to remain at the forefront of this global response. “ICMP has been operating around the world for more than a decade: this Treaty means we can spearhead new initiatives in a way that is consistent…

10 December 2014: Resolving missing persons cases in Bosnia and Herzegovina – even after two decades – is a central and indispensable element in establishing a just and sustainable society, participants at an International Human Rights Day demonstration on behalf of the Missing said.

The Forum on Joint Memorialization of Missing Persons, which brings together representatives of Family Associations and other activists from across Bosnia and Herzegovina, organized a “silhouette of missing persons” event in Sarajevo on 10 December.

“It’s important that families of the missing mark International Human Rights Day, because we have experienced the disappearance of loved ones and we have become their voice. We have to fight for their right to a dignified burial, for their identity,” said Adis Hukanovic, a representative of the Forum. “By making this peaceful walk on International Human Rights Day we want to express our dissatisfaction with the general situation when it comes…

5 December 2014: Members of the Syrian Commission for Transitional Justice (SCTJ) this week visited ICMP’s headquarters in Sarajevo, the Podrinje Identification Project and ICMP Identification Coordination Division in Tuzla, and the Potocari Memorial Center in Srebrenica.

During the 2-5 December visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina, SCTJ members were briefed by ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger and other ICMP staff members, on the institutional, legal, technical and civil society aspects of the missing persons issue in different parts of the world. They also met with a range of BiH civil society groups active in the search for missing persons.

It is estimated that almost 50,000 persons are missing in Syria, including 30,000 as a result of the current conflict. Since fighting began in 2011 there have been reports of mass graves near major cities such as Deraa, Damascus, Aleppo, and in the Christian town of Sadad. During discussions in Sarajevo members…

4 December 2014: A successful combination of civil society engagement, institutional development and scientific innovation has made it possible to account for more than 70 percent of the missing from the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger said at the December launch of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Missing Persons from the Armed Conflict of the 1990s: A Stocktaking.

“As many as 23,000 missing persons out of an estimated 30,000 reported missing as a consequence of the war have been accounted for,” she said. “No other country in the world has resolved such a large number of missing persons cases.”

The book-length ICMP report brings together in a single, detailed and systematic narrative all of the available information on missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, providing documentary information on the search for the missing in every part of the country.

“Bosnia and Herzegovina must remain vigilant in accounting for the remaining…

27 November 2014: At the end of November the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) provided a final report to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP), detailing the outcome of their two-year partnership to establish an effective DNA identification system to resolve the fate of persons who went missing during the conflicts in the years 1963-1964 and 1974 in Cyprus.

The collaboration between ICMP and the Cyprus CMP was established to provide for DNA testing from unidentified skeletal remains, and to perform advanced DNA matching between the resulting new DNA profiles and the DNA profiles of family members of the missing. The family reference DNA database to be used for comparison was provided in anonymous form from samples that had previously been collected and tested in Cyprus. The computerized DNA family matching procedure was done at ICMP in a blind manner, fostering both objectivity and the principle of personal…

26 November 2014: The International Commission on Missing Persons has received a further grant of US$200,000 from the Government of the Republic of Turkey, as in previous years. This funding will support ICMP’s activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina and elsewhere.

“This donation is of great importance to ICMP – apart from its financial value it demonstrates Turkey’s commitment to supporting ICMP’s efforts to help Bosnia and Herzegovina address the issue of persons missing from armed conflict and crimes against humanity, regardless of their national or religious origin,” said ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. She described the Turkish funding as “an important contribution to future peace and stability.”

Turkish Ambassador Cihad Erginay said “The Government of the Republic of Turkey attaches significant importance to the issue of missing persons as a global matter. As the only specific organization regarding missing persons cases, we have been supporting ICMP from the very beginning. The Balkan…

18 November 2014: ICMP today published Arabic and Kurdish translations of the report on the proceedings of a major international conference on the missing held in The Hague at the end of 2013. The Report, entitled “The Missing: An Agenda for the Future”, provides an overview of the issue of missing persons globally and highlights recommendations made by conference delegates. The conference, held between 29 October and 1 November 2013, was the first of its kind and brought together more than 200 prominent policymakers, human rights activists, scientists and others.

 “The publication of Arabic and Kurdish translations will extend the reach and usefulness of this document. It will be accessible to stakeholders in Iraq and elsewhere. This is crucial because the document lays out steps that communities and countries can take in order to begin addressing the global problem of missing persons in an…

Sarajevo, 17 November 2014 – The Embassy of Sweden today signed an agreement with the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) for ICMP’s Western Balkans program 2014-2016. The agreement is worth 1.9 million Euros over the next two years. Sweden has been a donor to ICMP since 2002 and has through the years contributed to the organization’s crucial role in the region with 3.5 million Euros.

“The work of ICMP in the Western Balkans is important for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina in supporting legal, operational and institutional capacities to address the missing persons issue effectively,” said Marie Bergström, Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden.

With its support for the Western Balkans, Sweden maintains its commitment to the cause of missing persons. In the 2014-2016 program ICMP will continue to provide assistance to countries in the region to account for the missing.

“This is a targeted and substantial contribution that will…

Sarajevo, 13 November 2014 – A new section of the ICMP website came on-line today, making available a massive volume of information on the issue of missing persons throughout the world. “The Missing” section examines the underlying forces – war, migration, organized crime, even climate change – that have turned the problem of missing persons into a major 21^st century challenge. It explores the nature and scale of the problem, examines legal, social and political interpretations of what constitutes a missing person, and reviews in detail developments related to missing persons in more than 60 countries.

“This new feature represents a significant expansion of the information provided on the ICMP website, and it also represents a major contribution to analyzing and understanding a pressing global challenge,” said ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. “Societies recovering from the trauma of conflict, for example, cannot make progress towards reconciliation and recovery as long as…