La Comisión Internacional sobre Personas Desaparecidas

US Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Charles L. English visited the DNA Laboratory of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).  He was accompanied in his visit by the Director-General of ICMP, Ms. Kathryne Bomberger. 

“I continue to be impressed by the achievements of the ICMP in assisting this country with addressing the issue of missing persons,” said Ambassador English. “With the assistance of ICMP, almost 12,000 persons missing from the conflicts of the 1990’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina have been recovered and identified, bringing a vital sense of closure to their families”. 

INTERPOL and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) today announced the 122nd victim identification following Typhoon Frank during which an estimated 1,330 people lost their lives, including 820 passengers and crew from the Princess of the Stars ferry.The Disaster Victim Identification teams in Cebu City, made up of experts from the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), ICMP and INTERPOL and its member countries from around the world, announced 34 new identifications today – all made utilizing the most modern DNA-matching techniques at the ICMP.

The current total of 122 DNA-assisted identifications is more than double the target of 10 per week set by the NBI, INTERPOL and ICMP on August 17 when the first DNA-identified victims were returned to…

Mr. Dirk Lange, Head of Unit for Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina within the European Commission’s Directorate General for Enlargement visited the facilities of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in Tuzla today.

His visit included a tour of ICMP’s Podrinje Identification Project (PIP) where forensic anthropologists and pathologists examine, store and make final identifications of the mortal remains of persons missing from the 1995 fall of Srebrenica.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) provided Filipino authorities with the 70th DNA- based identification yesterday in its on-going effort to help identify the victims of Typhoon Frank.

ICMP experts deployed rapidly to the Philippines, at INTERPOL’s request, in the wake of the disaster and they have been operating in Cebu City with Interpol and Filipino authorities from the National Bureau of Investigations to identify the bodies of victims of the disaster.
It is estimated that over 1,300 persons were unaccounted for as a consequence of the typhoon, which struck the region on 21 June. Of that number, approximately 866 persons were missing from the 24,000-ton ferry MV Princess of the Stars and an estimated 500 other people were missing from…

Ten families of victims of the Philippines ferry disaster claimed their bodies at a ceremony on Sunday following the release of the first DNA identifications. The event was attended by local officials and by members of INTERPOL’s Incident Response Team (IRT) and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) undertaking the forensic work.

The INTERPOL team, which includes Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) experts and a representative from the ICMP, has been working with Philippines authorities to identify the bodies of some 800 people drowned when the Princess of the Stars ferry capsized in a typhoon on 21 June.
More than 300 bodies were initially recovered from the sea after the typhoon and 40 of these have so far been identified using fingerprints, dental records and other traditional methods excluding DNA. At least several hundred more bodies are still trapped in the capsized ferry and a complex salvage operation is underway to…

  The International Commission on Missing Persons is delighted to announce the signing of an agreement with the Government of the Republic of Chile to provide technical assistance in identifying victims of enforced disappearance from the 1970’s.

“ICMP is pleased to assist Chile in helping to identify those missing,” said Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. “It not only achieves the primary human rights task of helping families and relatives find their loved ones, it’s also a good example of the kind of international professional cooperation that ICMP, as it expands operationally, is prepared to offer worldwide.”

The governments of Switzerland and United Kingdom announced today that they will provide further funds to the work of the International Commission on Missing Persons for the 2008 and 2009. The joint contribution amounting to 400,000 Euros will help ICMP continue to provide assistance to judicial institutions.”ICMP recognizes that aspects of its work can be relevant to bringing war criminals to justice. Without effective criminal justice to end impunity for these most serious of crimes there cannot be lasting peace, nor can such crimes be prevented in the future,” said ICMP Director General, Ms. Kathryne Bomberger.

Since 2000 the Government of United Kingdom has donated over 3.35 Million Euros including this donation to the work of ICMP, and the Government of Switzerland has been a supporter of ICMP’s work since 2001, with a total amount of around 630,000 EUR including this donation. The valuable support of the two donors was…

The Government of the Czech Republic has announced that it will provide funds for the work of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) for the year 2008. The donation totals 600,000 Czech Koruna, or 24,000 Euros.

“We are pleased to expand our donor contribution to include assistance to ICMP and its important efforts to help the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina account for persons missing from the conflicts of the 1990’s,” said H. E. Jiří Kuděla Ambassador of the Czech Republic. “Their work is not only helping BiH deal with a difficult past, but is contributing to addressing the future in an open, accountable and transparent manner,” he added.