Baghdad, 13 April 2019: The Deputy Head of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) program in Iraq, Fawaz Abdulabbas Abdulameer, noted today that ICMP’s experience in different parts of the world shows conclusively that an effective missing persons process depends on families and officials working closely together.
“Families must know their rights, to the truth, to justice and to reparations, and they must be supported when they exercise these rights,” Mr Abdulabbas Abdulameer said, adding that “Government officials who are responsible for accounting for the missing Baghdad, 12 April 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is providing technical expertise and resources to support the Iraqi National Team at the mass grave excavation that resumed today in Kocho village near the town of Sinjar in Nineveh Province, northern Iraq. ICMP forensic experts are working alongside personnel from the Mass Graves Department of the Iraqi Martyrs’ Foundation, the Medico-Legal Directorate of the Ministry of Health, the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs and the United Nations Investigative Team to promote accountability for crimes committed by Da’esh. This effort is being coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. This activity was supported by the European Union Foreign Policy Instrument, the US Department of State and Canada. In addition to field support, ICMP has provided the National Team with training in relation to locating and documenting mass graves. It is also supporting anthropologists from… Sarajevo, 2 April 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the Embassy of Sweden in Sarajevo have signed an agreement under which Sweden will provide an additional 100.000 Euros to support ICMP’s program in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Including this additional funding, since 2002 Sweden has provided 23.000.000 SEK to support ICMP’s work in Bosnia and Herzegovina. “This new grant is part of Sweden’s long-term assistance for ICMP’s contribution to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s effort to account for the missing and to uphold the rights of survivors,” Marie Bergstrom, the Head of Development Cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden, said today. “Accounting for those who are still missing is a crucial element in maintaining peace and stability. ICMP provides the authorities with targeted and effective assistance and this is why Sweden is supporting its program in Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Matthew Holliday, the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, thanked the Swedish… The Hague, 20 March 2019: The Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), Kathryne Bomberger, issued a statement following the verdict of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT) in the case of Radovan Karadzic. “A chapter in the history of conflict of the Western Balkans closed today, when the MICT upheld the conviction of Radovan Karadzic for genocide and war crimes and extended the sentence to life in prison. “As those who were responsible for crimes are brought to justice, it is important that their victims are not forgotten. In the former Yugoslavia, 40,000 people went missing as a result of the conflicts. More than two thirds of these people have been accounted for as a result of the action of regional governments, working together with ICMP. However, 12,000 people are still missing, including one thousand of the 8,000 victims of the Srebrenica Genocide. “ICMP provided evidence… The Hague, 14 March 2019: More than half of those surveyed during an EU Consultation on Syria said the issue of missing persons, including victims of enforced disappearance and detainees, is the most important topic in the field of justice and cohesion, Kathryne Bomberger, Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), told participants at a major conference on Syria convened by the European Union in Brussels this week. Ms Bomberger was speaking on a panel on Justice and Social Cohesion at the European Parliament. She noted that the Consultation undertaken by the EU ahead of the conference, had concluded, among other things, that communities in Syria must be made aware of their legal rights and the legal tools they can use to defend their interests, and that accountability must be kept on the political agenda. “There are upwards of 80,000 persons missing in the Syrian context, including those missing… Sarajevo, 7 March 2019: In an interview published today by Buka.com, a news portal in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kathryne Bomberger, the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), stressed that “accounting for the missing is an investment in peace”, and she highlighted the paramount importance of regional cooperation. “Bringing governments together to address common challenges, and working with them to arrive at solutions together is important for trust building,” Ms Bomberger said. She said that while more than 70 percent of the missing have been accounted for, there are still 7,000 missing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and 12,000 missing across the region, so “the effort to account for the missing must be sustained”. Ms Bomberger noted that in London in June 2018, Western Balkan heads of government signed a Joint Declaration renewing their commitment to cooperate in the effort to account for those who are still missing. She described… The Hague, 6 March 2018: Regional cooperation and a sustained commitment by governments to move forward with their respective missing persons strategies are key to finding those who are still missing from the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, Kathryne Bomberger, the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), wrote in an article that appeared in Balkan Insight today. Ms Bomberger stressed that while 28,000 people have been accounted for, 12,000 are still missing, and she commended the progress that is being made to develop and implement multilateral cooperation, highlighting as “a significant step” the Joint Declaration signed in London in June 2018 by heads of government from the region, renewing their commitment to cooperate in the effort to account for those who are still missing. The Joint Declaration was followed by the signing of a Framework Plan last November, at ICMP headquarters in The Hague, by representatives of Bosnia… The Hague 5 March 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is pleased to announce that former Foreign Minister of El Salvador María Eugenia Brizuela de Ávila and former Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Bert Koenders will join ICMP’s Board of Commissioners. ICMP Commissioners are actively involved in addressing the global challenge of missing persons and represent ICMP at the highest diplomatic and governmental levels worldwide. “The Board of Commissioners is delighted to welcome two such distinguished public figures to its ranks,” ICMP Chair Thomas Miller said today. “As ICMP extends its support to countries around the world, it is important that the Board has the capacity to engage effectively at a global level, and I believe that our capacity to do this will be enhanced by the involvement of our… The Hague, 5 March 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has made the first human identifications using technology now being developed at ICMP’s laboratory in The Hague. The matches were made possible by the hugely increased analytical power of next-generation DNA technologies, known as Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS). “The use of MPS, which ICMP is developing in cooperation with academic colleagues and the international technology company QIAGEN, can achieve results in highly challenging cases, where current technologies have failed,” said Dr. Thomas J. Parsons, ICMP Director of Science & Technology, adding that MPS also enables identifications to be made between more distant relatives. “We are excited to see ICMP successfully identify individuals once counted as lost, using state-of-the-art technologies developed through our longstanding collaboration. This collaboration has resulted in a custom designed next-generation sequencing panel perfectly suited for ICMP’s missing persons applications, and is based on QIAGEN’s GeneReader NGS… Sarajevo, 27 February 2019: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has submitted three new DNA match reports to the BIH Missing Persons Institute (MPI) using technology that is now being developed at ICMP’s laboratory in The Hague. The matches – which mean that three previously unidentified sets of human remains have been identified – were made possible by the hugely increased analytical power of next generation DNA technologies, known as Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS). “ICMP’s use of MPS offers new hope for families who are still waiting to learn the fate of their loved ones,” the Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program, Matthew Holliday, said today. He said the number of new identifications enabled by MPS will be relatively small at first, but that it nonetheless represents a significant step forward. “The new technology can achieve results in highly challenging cases, where current technologies have failed and it also…ICMP Supports Iraqi National Team In Recovery Operations in Sinjar
Sweden Supports ICMP in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Accounting for the Missing Is a Key Element in Post-War Justice
EU Brussels Conference on Syria Discusses Missing Persons Issue
Accounting for the Missing Is an Investment in Peace
Regional Cooperation Is the Key To Finding the Wartime Missing
ICMP Welcomes Two New Commissioners
ICMP Laboratory in The Hague Utilizes New Technology for Human Identification
ICMP Laboratory in The Hague Delivers BIH Identifications Using New Technology