Online Policy Discussion on Syrian Missing Persons Looks at Options for Future Process

Photo: Families for Freedom

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30 April 2020 – How a future, post-conflict Syria could handle the challenge posed by large number of Syrians who are missing is the focus of a series of online policy discussions on the Syrian situation organized by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

The second segment of the weekly series, held 29 April 2020, focused on missing persons institutions and legislation. The online series forms part of a set of Roundtable discussions hosted by ICMP to bring Syrian civil society organizations and associations of families of the missing together to support them in a process of devising common strategies on the issue of detained and missing persons. International experts and others involved in similar processes elsewhere are also part of the discussions.

Three Roundtables have been held: one in May 2019 in The Hague, one in October and November in Istanbul and one in February 2020 in The Hague. A…

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ICMP Signs Cooperation Agreements with Iraqi Institutions to Continue Support in Finding All Missing Persons

Zaid Ali Abbas, the Director General of Medico Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Health; Diaa Karim, Director General the Mass Grave Affairs and Protection Directorate of the Martyr’s Foundation, and Fawaz Abdulabbas, deputy head of ICMP in Iraq, sign cooperation agreements on 12 August 2020. Standing behind them are Health Minister Hassan Al-Tamimi, First Deputy Speaker Hassan Al Kabbai and the Head of Martyr’s Foundation, Kadem Awaid, who attended the ceremony to underline their support.

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BAGDHAD 13 August 2020: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) this week signed cooperation agreements with the Mass Grave Affairs and Protection Directorate of the Martyr’s Foundation and the Medico Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Health and Environment, adding to an agreement signed with the Ministry of Justice in late July.

“The agreements affirm and strengthen our cooperation with ICMP,” said Hassan Al Kabbai, First Deputy Speaker in Iraq’s Parliament, who hosted the 12 August signing ceremony. “We look forward to the results our closer cooperation will bring – I will follow developments closely.”

ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger said:

“The agreements form the basis of ICMP’s continued to support to Iraq in developing and implementing a sustainable strategy to account for all Iraq’s missing and disappeared persons in an impartial and transparent manner.”

Iraqi authorities estimate that 250,000 to 1 million persons are missing in the country. ICMP has worked with…

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Online exhibition highlights advocacy material to help Syrian families of missing persons

The materials aim to make families of the many who have disappeared in the Syrian conflict aware of their rights, and what they can do to support a search for their missing relatives

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By Yasmine Khalaf

28 July 2020: A collection of films and other advocacy material created by Syrian civil society organizations are featured in a new online exhibit organized by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

The materials aim to make families of the many who have disappeared in the Syrian conflict aware of their rights, and what they can do to support a search for their missing relatives. The 11 organizations created the products with support from the ICMP, which awarded them small grants to finance the projects and offered workshops and other support to help the organizations strengthen their skills.

“We have the right to know where they are,” a woman gazing straight into the camera says in one of the films, produced by the Syria Legal Network.

The title of online exhibit, “In Their Absence”, was inspired by a book collecting interviews by families of the missing on the challenges…

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ICMP Welcomes Appointment of Members of the Lebanon National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared

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The Hague 17 July 2020: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) welcomes the appointment of the members of the Lebanon National Commission for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared, who have been sworn in before the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun.

“These appointments underline recognition of the importance of resolving the issue of missing persons as an opportunity to assert state responsibility, and thus  enhance confidence in public institutions on this issue,” said ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. “As the only international organization working exclusively on the issue of missing persons, ICMP stands ready to support Lebanon’s efforts to address this issue in an effective and impartial way, and to help families of the missing to secure truth and justice.”

For years, family associations and civil society have worked to keep the missing persons issue in public view, and together with NGOs they have called on the authorities to launch…

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Her Majesty Queen Noor Message on Srebrenica Genocide 25th Anniversary

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Dearest sisters and brothers, today we remember with love and respect the lives of Srebrenica’s beloved fathers, brothers, sons, those who will never be forgotten. Your loss 25 years ago is our loss, the world’s great loss, a crime against humanity beyond imagining.

I arrived not long after to meet and mourn with the mothers of Srebrenica, wives, sister and daughters of the disappeared. It was only then that I could begin to understand the magnitude of your horrendous loss. Over the past twenty years working with the International Commission on Missing Persons I’ve been privileged to witness, love and admire my sisters of Srebrenica. For your courage, dedication, compassion and steadfastness in the face of immense pressures. In our work with you and others to ensure that the victims of Srebrenica are found and identified, together…

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HAPJA E THIRRJES PËR PROPOZIME PËR GRANTE TË VOGLA TË ICMP PËR SHOQATAT E FAMILJEVE TË PERSONAVE TË ZHDUKUR/ORGANIZATAT E SHOQËRISË CIVILE, SHQIPËRI (2020-2021)

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DATA E NISJES: 10 – KORRIK – 20

DATA E MBYLLJES: 21- GUSHT – 20

I. KOMISIONI NDËEKOMBËTAR PËR PERSONAT E ZHDUKUR (ICMP) PROGRAMI I GRANTEVE TË VOGLA

 

Komisioni Ndërkombëtar për Personat e Zhdukur (ICMP) fton shoqatat ose organizatat e familjeve të personave të zhdukur dhe organizatat e shoqërisë civile të paraqesin një kërkesë/aplikim për Programin Grantet e Vogla të ICMP për Shoqatat Familjare të Personave të Zhdukur/Organizata të Shoqërisë Civile, Shqipëri 2020-2021.

ICMP është një organizatë ndërkombëtare e pavarur, e bazuar në marrveshje ndërkombëtare, me më shumë se 20 vjet përvojë në 40 vende. Eshtë e vetmja organizatë ndërkombëtare që ka si detyrë ekskluzive të punojë për çështjen e personave të zhdukur. ICMP ndihmon qeveritë të ndërtojnë institucione të sundimit të ligjit që kërkojnë me sukses dhe paanshmëri personat e zhdukur, dhe mbështet përpjekjet për t’iu bërë të mundur familjeve të të zhdukurve të mbrojnë të drejtat e tyre.

II. RRETH PROGRAMIT TE…

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OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS FOR ICMP´S SMALL GRANTS FOR THE ASSOCIATIONS OF FAMILIES OF MISSING PERSONS (FAS)/ CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS”, ALBANIA (2020-2021)

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ISSUE DATE: 10-Jul-20

CLOSING DATE: 21-Aug-20

I. INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON MISSING PERSONS (ICMP) SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) invites associations or organizations of families of missing persons and civil society organizations to submit an application for its Small Grants for the Associations of Families of Missing Persons (FAs)/Civil Society Organization’s, Albania 2020-2021”.

ICMP is an independent, treaty-based international organization with more than 20 years of experience in 40 countries. It is the only international organization tasked exclusively to work on the issue of missing persons. It helps governments build rule-of-law institutions that successfully and impartially search for and identify missing persons, and it supports efforts to enable families of the missing to assert their rights.

II. ABOUT ICMP PROGRAM IN ALBANIA

As part of its EU-funded program on missing persons in Albania, in 2017-2020 ICMP has begun collecting ante-mortem data and family reference samples from families whose relatives are believed…

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ICMP, the Srebrenica Memorial and artist Šejla Kamerić, launch art project “Forensic Archive: From One Learn All”

The project highlights the notion of absence and the search for the missing, aiming to inform, educate and evoke emotions

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10 July 2020: To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), the Srebrenica Memorial Center and BIH artist Šejla Kamerić launched an art project that casts light on the scientific process of finding and identifying war victims in a mission for truth and justice.

The project, titled Forensic Archive: From One Learn All will be developed in coming years and will feature a permanent exhibition at the Srebrenica Memorial and a digital platform. The installation projected on the walls of the Potocari Battery Factory – which houses the Srebrenica Memorial – on 8 and 9 July, ahead of the 11 July anniversary of the Genocide was generously supported by the Government of the United Kingdom and is a part of the launch of the project.

By using different media in a crossover between science and art, the project presents the scientific facts on the basis of…

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ICMP begins work on guide to help families of Iraq’s missing; seeks input from civil society, families

ICMP Iraq Program Head Rasa Ostrauskaite (to the right) with Yezidi families of the missing and community leaders following consultations. Baadre, November 2019. Photo: ICMP/Ali Simoqy

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Baghdad, Iraq, 15 June 2020: Relatives of the hundreds of thousands of persons missing in Iraq often face difficulties in finding reliable information on what they can do to ensure that the disappearances of their family members are investigated. To help them navigate what can be a complex, challenging and lengthy process, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is developing a guide to Iraq’s approach to account for missing persons.

ICMP has worked with the authorities in Iraq since 2005, supporting them in work to account for all missing persons, regardless of their sectarian or national background, or the period of time in which they disappeared. ICMP also helps Iraqi families of missing persons access their rights.

The ICMP Iraq guide will explain the missing persons process in Iraq and outline the various steps involved in searching for and identifying missing persons in the country. It will highlight the roles…

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EU Special Representative Visits ICMP Project related to Identifying Srebrenica Genocide Victims

ICMP Senior Forensic Anthropologist Dragana Vucetic shows printout of an autopsy report to Ambassador Sattler and Mr. Holliday

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By: Saša Kulukčija

Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 5 June 2020: The painstaking process of identifying victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide was the focus of a visit today by EU Special Representative Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the European Union Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to see the work of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP).

At the Podrinje Identification Project facility, Ambassador Sattler, who was accompanied by the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, Matthew Holiday, observed work by ICMP staff to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina in identifying human remains from the genocide. Using DNA-based identification methods, ICMP has assisted in the identification of 7,000 of the more than 8,000 persons who were missing following the genocide. The work continues to find new mass and clandestine graves related to Srebrenica.

“With the EU’s financial and political support, ICMP will continue to help the BIH authorities to fulfill their obligations to…

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Photography artists contemplate notion of missing and absence in collaboration with ICMP

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By Saša Kulukčija

The Hague, 15 May 2020: Artists play a crucial role in society by casting light on difficult topics, such as that of missing persons, Kathryne Bomberger, the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons, said during the May 15, 2020, online launch of a virtual publication that collect the works of 13 photography students from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

The works, collectively titled Parts Unknown, were created in collaboration with ICMP and Creative Court, a Hague-based organization that works at the interface of art and global justice. Under their guidance, the students visited the ICMP headquarters, including its DNA laboratory that analyses samples from missing persons and family members, and held discussions with ICMP experts to inspire the development of their concepts. They then created individual pieces of art that revolve around the notion of missing and absence: What happens when someone never comes…

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