ICMP: states must endeavor to account for the missing

ReliefWeb, Aljazeera Balkans, Lebanon Files, and FOKUS news agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina published an op-ed by ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, highlighting the close connection between addressing the issue of disappearances and upholding the rule of law. https://bit.ly/2BWyY8Q https://bit.ly/2omv4wD https://bit.ly/2LEnXJa https://bit.ly/2Pj57cK

Forbes: International Day of the Disappeared

Forbes Magazine has published an overview of the International Day of the Disappeared, examining the most pressing instances of enforced disappearances by state and non-state actors around the world. https://bit.ly/2Pmfsol

Syria reveals fate of the disappeared

CNN investigates the fate of 800 disappeared Syrians whose death notices were issued by the Syrian governments this summer, dispelling government claims of natural deaths in government prisons.  https://cnn.it/2omgIfv

Bosnia Searches for Mass Grave

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Missing Persons Institute is excavating a suspected mass grave containing 29 Bosniak women and children killed in the village of Zecovi in the Prijedor area in July 1992. Balkan Insight reports that if bodies are found, they would provide key pieces of evidence in the trial of Bosnian Serb soldiers, police and officials accused of crimes in Zecovi. https://bit.ly/2MJ8vks

Thailand’s “failed pledges” to end disappearances

Human Rights Watch has highlighted 82 recorded cases of enforced disappearance in Thailand since 1980. “Despite the Thai government’s pledges to ratify the UN convention on Enforced Disappearance, there has been no move to enact the necessary domestic legislation, with the government instead enabling practices of enforced disappearance by state agencies,” HRW says.  https://bit.ly/2MZfaWO

Malaysia: campaign against enforced disappearance calls for police watchdog

The Malay Mail reports on efforts by the Citizen Action Group on Enforced Disappearance (CAGED) in Malaysia to advocate for the launch of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC). https://bit.ly/2C18Cmp

Day of the Disappeared marked in Bosnia & Herzegovina

N1 reports that volunteers from the International Committee of the Red Cross in Bosnia and Herzegovina coordinated with local family associations to commemorate the International Day of the Disappeared, releasing 3,500 black balloons in Sarajevo bearing the question, “Where are they?” https://bit.ly/2LG909m

Pakistan: activists demand action on disappearances

On 30 August, politicians, family associations, and activists came together in Islamabad to protest against enforced disappearance in Pakistan, Dawn newspaper reports. The protestors called for justice and accountability for disappearances at the hand of state agencies, criminalization of enforced disappearances, and renewed efforts by the government to account for the forcibly disappeared. https://bit.ly/2C0YABN

Items in the Daily World News Digest are summaries of published reports relevant to the issue of missing persons, compiled by ICMP staff. These items do not necessarily reflect the position of ICMP.