ICMP operates in diverse societal, political and cultural environments, engaging in all aspects of locating and identifying missing persons, from fostering the involvement of civil society, to providing technical assistance and building institutional capacity. ICMP has been active in some 40 countries that have faced large numbers of missing persons as a result of natural and man-made disasters, wars, widespread human rights abuses, organized crime and other causes.
In this section
Africa
ICMP has helped to resolve missing persons cases arising from political violence in Kenya and South Africa, whereas in Cameroon and Namibia, ICMP’s forensic expertise has been applied in the identification of victims following aviation accidents that killed large numbers of passengers and crew.
Asia
ICMP offered assistance to all countries affected by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004 and produced DNA profiles to identify hundreds of victims in Thailand and the Maldives. In 2008 and 2013, ICMP helped the authorities in The Philippines identify victims following extensive loss of life as a result of major hurricanes.
Middle East and North Africa
For more than four decades countries in the Middle East and North Africa have faced a significant missing persons problem as a result of political repression, wars and civil strife. The Lebanese civil conflict, the Iran-Iraq war and the more recent hostilities in Iraq, Syria and Libya have created an upsurge in the number of […]
The Americas
The issue of missing persons has affected societies in North and South America as a result of diverse causes, including natural and man-made disasters, terrorism, trafficking and migration as well as organized crime.