The Government of Switzerland continues to support the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). During his visit to the ICMP center in Tuzla, the Swiss Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), H. E. Mr. Rolf Lenz, announced that the Swiss Government will be contributing 80.000 Euros in 2008 to the ICMP. This contribution will be used to support the project “Capacity Building for Associations of Families of Missing Persons – Fostering Mutual Understanding”. H. E. Mr. Lenz stressed that his country, respecting the priorities of the Swiss foreign policy, has been engaged for many years in the peace and stabilization process of BiH. Dealing with the past, as well as all transitional justice activities, is of crucial importance in BiH.
ICMP assists governments in the process of locating, recovering and identifying missing persons through the use of forensic archaeology, anthropology and DNA science. It provides policy assistance to governments…
BiH Justice Minister and Chief Prosecutor Visited ICMP
Tuzla | 17. September 2007
The Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barisa Colak, and the Chief Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marinko Jurcevic, were impressed with the results achieved by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina to address the issue of persons missing as result of armed conflict. Recently, ICMP made its 10,000 DNA match of persons missing from the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The ICMP system of DNA-led identifications was established in response to the difficulty of locating recovering and identifying persons large numbers of missing persons in a post conflict environment. The use of a DNA-led process is the most accurate method to identify persons from conflict or crimes against humanity.
During the visit to ICMP facilities in Tuzla on Monday, State officials…
BiH Justice Minister and Chief Prosecutor Visited ICMP
The Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barisa Colak, and the Chief Prosecutor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Marinko Jurcevic, were impressed with the results achieved by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina to address the issue of persons missing as result of armed conflict. Recently, ICMP made its 10,000 DNA match of persons missing from the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina.The ICMP system of DNA-led identifications was established in response to the difficulty of locating recovering and identifying persons large numbers of missing persons in a post conflict environment. The use of a DNA-led process is the most accurate method to identify persons from conflict or crimes against humanity.
During the visit to ICMP facilities in Tuzla on Monday, State officials thanked the organization for its participation and contribution to the process. “More than half of the missing persons in Bosnia and…
International Day of the Disappeared
On the International Day of Disappeared, the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the Missing Persons Institute (MPI) of Bosnia and Herzegovina wish to highlight that thousands of persons remain unaccounted for in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of more than 30,000 missing persons at the end of the conflict, an estimated 13,000 are still missing. Their families continue to live in uncertainty and anguish hoping to receive news regarding the fate of their missing relatives.
ICMP DNA Identification of 10,000th Victim in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) passed a major milestone this week, when it recorded its 10,000th DNA match of persons missing from the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The 10,000th missing person to be identified using ICMP’s unique DNA-led system was a man missing from the fall of Srebrenica in July 1995. The ICMP DNA match report, which indicates the identity of the man with a certainty of 99.95 per cent, will be forwarded to the local court-appointed pathologist, 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 for burial.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Must Strengthen its Institutions to find the Missing
The Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sulejman Tihic, visited the “Cancari Road 10” exhumation site in Kamenica, eastern Bosnia, today, where the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is providing assistance to the excavation teams representing the Missing Persons Institute.In an effort to identify the missing from conflicts or human rights abuses, one of the most difficult hurdles is often finding the physical location of mass graves. Perpetrators of the crimes have often gone to great lengths to hide the bodies of the dead and many of the mass graves associated with the 1995 fall of Srebrenica were moved to secondary sites. The perpetrators used heavy machinery to move the bodies, which resulted in body parts becoming fragmented and commingled.
Delegation of Kosovo Families of the Missing Visited Tuzla and Srebrenica
Ten members of the Kosovo Coordination Council of Associations of Families of Missing Persons visited Tuzla and Srebrenica on 10-11 July 2007. The goals of the visit for these families were to better understand the forensic sciences work of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), to exchange experiences with representatives of associations of families of missing persons from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and to participate in the 12th annual Srebrenica commemoration and funeral.
Nearly 10,000 Victims Identified in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is about to make its 10,000th DNA identification of persons missing from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, of which almost 4,300 are the mortal remains of persons missing from the 1995 fall of Srebrenica. Analyzing DNA profiles extracted from bone samples of exhumed mortal remains and matching them to the DNA profiles obtained from blood samples donated by relatives of the missing, ICMP has assisted BiH in making accurate, DNA-led identifications for the last 5 years. This year, ICMP identified 445 persons who will be buried on the July 11th commemoration at Potočari.
BiH Minister of Justice and BiH Chief State Prosecutor visit ICMP
The Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Barisa Colak, and the State Chief Prosecutor, Marinko Jurcevic, met with the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), Ms. Kathryne Bomberger today during a visit to the headquarters of ICMP, located in Sarajevo.During their visit, they had an opportunity to discuss a variety of issues, including the initiative of the State Prosecutor to establish a State Forensics Institute in BiH.
Norway’s Donation to ICMP Contributes to Process
The Government of Norway made a financial contribution to the work of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) this week. ICMP received 1,500,000 Norwegian Kroner (186,000 Euros) towards ICMP’s identification project in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Since its establishment in 1996, ICMP has assisted the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in addressing the issue of persons missing from the conflict. Using scientific methods, primarily DNA analysis in identification of mortal remains, ICMP has helped thousands of families to find the truth about what happened to their loved ones.
ICMP collects blood samples from relatives of the missing and receives bone samples from court appointed pathologists. These are archived and sent to ICMP laboratories for testing. Once the DNA is extracted DNA profiles are entered into ICMP’s database and matched. To date ICMP’s efforts have resulted in DNA-assisted identifications of 9,756 individuals missing from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“Our work is not…