30 June 2007: 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 about the past. It is about the present and the future and I believe that addressing the horrors of the past is essential to moving on”, said Kathryne Bomberger, ICMP Director-General. “ICMP could not have existed without the political and financial support of generous governments and their openhearted citizens. I should like to sincerely thank the Government of Norway for their valuable support since 2001”, Bomberger added.

The work of ICMP is also supported by the Governments of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, the Holy See, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union. The C.S. Mott Foundation provides funding to ICMP for the “Paths to Reconciliation” project.