Operational in the region since the early 1990s, the ICRC continues to help victims of the conflicts, on all sides, to deal with the painful and lasting consequences of armed violence.

The ICRC's main focus is on the more than 17,000 people still listed as missing since the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. The organization works to help clarify the fate of people who went missing in connection with the conflict and supports associations that help people handle the legal problems arising from the absence of their relatives.

The ICRC also visits people detained for security reasons or on war crimes charges, including those sentenced by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). In the field, it monitors the situation of vulnerable communities in areas that remain at risk from violence.

In cooperation with its International Movement partners, the ICRC also supports efforts by the region's national Red Cross societies to enhance their structures and operational capacity, particularly in the fields of tracing, emergency preparedness and measures to reduce the risk from mines and explosive remnants of war.

The ICRC invests substantially in the promotion of international humanitarian law (IHL) through programmes aimed at authorities, the armed forces, the police, universities and schools. Much of this work is done in close cooperation with National Societies.

Presence (2009): 91 staff, including 13 expatriates

See also : Missing persons on the territory of former Yugoslavia 04.2008 *Kosovo unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. Its status remains disputed.