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 Home > Focus > Missing persons News Section The missing - a major ICRC initiative  Section on the ICRC’s call for action to deal with the problem of people unaccounted for as a result of armed conflict or internal violence and to assist their families; extensive documentation on the missing and on meetings dealing with the problem.
©ICRC / J. Powell / GE-E-00595
International humanitarian law requires that authorities do all they can to inform families about relatives who have disappeared. Through its work, the ICRC encourages States to make this a priority and to pass information rapidly to families, who otherwise endure a limbo of uncertainty. Looking for a missing relative?
ICRC activities
The ICRC carries out a range of activities to resolve the problem of people unaccounted for as a result of armed conflict or internal violence and to assist their families. See also  Key document29-10-2009 The International Tracing Service and the ICRCSince 1955 the ICRC manages the International Tracing Service (ITS) in Bad Arolsen which traces Nazi victims and their families. The ITS documents their fate and makes its archives available for research. (About the ICRC\History\Second World War) Includes Photo 28-8-2009 Missing persons: a major humanitarian concernFamilies of missing persons suffer greatly owing to uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones who have disappeared as a result of armed conflicts or internal violence. Morris Tidball-Binz, an ICRC forensic doctor, talks about the role of forensics in clarifying the fate of missing persons. (Focus\Missing persons) Interview Includes Photo 30-6-2009 Families of missing persons in Nepal: a study of their needsThe present report sums up the findings of extensive research on the needs of families of missing persons in Nepal. It has been carried out by an external consultant familiar with the matter and the particular context of Nepal, under contract to the ICRC. (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Nepal) Report Includes PDF Feature29-5-2009 Guatemala: putting an end to the pain of uncertaintyThe 1960-1996 internal armed conflict in Guatemala left tens of thousands of people dead and missing. The authorities, victims’ relatives, and various organizations are still searching for the remains of many of these people. Once found, they must be identified. The ICRC offers technical advice and material assistance to the Guatemalan organizations that are pursuing these efforts, and supports the families through the legal proceedings. (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Guatemala) Feature Includes Photo 2-4-2009 Peru: psychosocial support for the relatives of missing personsIn forensic anthropology investigation processes, it is during exhumations, clothing exhibitions and restitutions of skeletal remains, among other moments, that the suffering of the relatives of missing persons becomes most evident. It is then that psychosocial and emotional support becomes crucial.
(The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Peru) Feature Includes Photo 2-4-2009 Peru: new hope for the relatives of missing personsAfter 25 years of waiting, relatives of 61 persons who disappeared in Huanta, Ayacucho, in 1984 took part from 9 to 23 March in exhumations and the taking of DNA samples to identify the remains of 50 victims that can later be returned to their relatives. (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Peru) Feature Includes Photo 16-10-2008 Twenty years after the end of the Iran-Iraq war, tens of thousands of combatants still unaccounted forOn 16 October the governments of Iran and Iraq, together with the ICRC, signed a memorandum of understanding that represents an important step towards easing the heavy burden of tens of thousands of bereaved Iraqi and Iranian families. The document establishes a clear framework for collecting information and sharing it between the two countries, and for handing over mortal remains. These tasks will be performed jointly by experts from both countries with ICRC support. (The ICRC worldwide\Middle East and North Africa) Feature Includes Photo 1-9-2008 Guatemala: a young man’s search for his identityAccording to the report published by the Historical Clarification Commission, around 5,000 children became separated from their families during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala. Sebastián Max was one of them. After 28 long years, he has finally learned his true identity. (The ICRC worldwide\The Americas\Guatemala) Feature Includes Photo 30-8-2008 Nepal: where have the missing gone?The armed conflict in Nepal between the government and the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist ended following the 2006 ceasefire agreement. The ICRC in Nepal is working to clarify the fate of people missing as a result of the conflict. The ICRC’s Moheindu Chemjong reports. (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Nepal) Feature 23-6-2008 Kenya: ICRC forensic expert helps identify victims of post-election violenceFollowing the post-electoral violence that shook Kenya in early 2008, the Kenyan Ministry of Health requested help from the ICRC to support local forensic teams identify badly decomposed or burned bodies. The ICRC sent three of its forensic experts to Kenya between January and June 2008. The ICRC’s Nicole Engelbrecht reports from Nairobi. (The ICRC worldwide\Africa\Kenya) Feature Includes Photo 29-2-2008 Olja's story: a missing husband, an interrupted life and no way outA decade of armed conflicts in the Balkans in the 1990s caused thousands of people to disappear. The following is one woman's story of the pain of a husband gone missing, of holding out hope in vain, and the support that helped her get through it all. (The ICRC worldwide\Western and Central Europe and the Balkans\Serbia) Feature Includes Photo Field newsletter25-4-2008 Missing persons on the territory of former YugoslaviaThe families of more than 17,000 persons who went missing as a result of the past decade's conflicts in former Yugoslavia are still waiting for news on their missing relatives. They have the right to know the fate of their loved ones. It is the responsibility of the authorities to address this fundamental right of the families by releasing official information on the whereabouts of people unaccounted for. Only answers can put an end to, or at least alleviate, the suffering of the families. (The ICRC worldwide\Western and Central Europe and the Balkans\Serbia) Field newsletter ICRC film16-12-2004 Where are they now?
Restoring and maintaining family links: the worldwide network of the ICRC and the Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies Uncertainty over the fate of a loved one causes untold suffering in wartime. This film captures how the ICRC Central Tracing Agency, together with Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies all over the world, works to alleviate this suffering. It illustrates the different means and methods used in the essential efforts to trace family members and to restore family links. From distributing Red Cross messages and organizing family reunifications to visiting persons deprived of their freedom, the work undertaken brings welcome news and relief to thousands of people every year. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Protection) ICRC film Includes Video 31-12-2003 The Missing: end the silenceThe Missing: end the silence is a longer film (14 min.) also focusing on testimonials and is intended to heighten awareness of the issue of The Missing. It encourages action to be taken to resolve the problem and to guarantee the fundamental right of the families involved to know the fate of a missing relative. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Protection) ICRC film Includes Video 31-12-2003 The Missing: the right to knowThe Missing: the right to know is a short video (4 min. 30 sec.) which is ideal for opening meetings and discussions, providing a concise overview, through a series of testimonials, of the problem of those who remain unaccounted for. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Films\Protection) ICRC film Includes Video ICRC Publication29-8-2007 Missing Persons - A hidden tragedyPeople have gone missing as long as men have been fighting wars. The plight of people missing in armed conflict and the suffering of their families has been a consistent concern to the ICRC. This specially commissioned report, written by an independent journalist, turns the spotlight onto the plight of missing persons and their families. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Protection) ICRC Publication Includes PDF 28-8-2006 The Missing: ICRC progress reportIn 2002, the ICRC began looking at ways of better assisting people missing as a result of armed conflict or internal violence, and their relatives. Following an International Conference of Governmental and Non-Governmental Experts (held in 2003), the Agenda for Humanitarian Action was adopted, which sets out clear objectives for the States and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to achieve between 2004 and 2007. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Protection) ICRC Publication Includes PDF 10-4-2006 Management of dead bodies after disasters: a field manual for first respondersDignified and proper management of the dead in disasters is fundamental to help the families know the fate of their relatives and mourn their dead. This manual is intended for use by those first on the scene following a disaster when no specialists are at hand. It provides basic guidance to manage the recovery, basic identification, storage and disposal of dead bodies following disasters, to ensure that no information is lost and that the dead are treated with respect. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Assistance) ICRC Publication Includes PDF 1-12-2005 Missing people, DNA Analysis and Identification of Human Remains- a guide to best practice in armed conflicts and other situations of armed violence The process of identifying human remains in the wake of a conflict may be subject to multiple constraints, security and lack of resources being the two most common and important of many. Such constraints may limit or even preclude the use of more sophisticated technologies. This document sets down guidelines for achieving best practice in the face of such constraints. (Info resources\ICRC publications and films\Publications\Protection) ICRC Publication Includes PDF International Review of the Red Cross30-6-2006 The missing and transitional justice: the right to know and the fight against impunityThe authors look at the ways in which transitional justice mechanisms may support the right of families to know the fate of their relatives, and how work to resolve the missing persons issue can be reconciled with an effective fight against impunity. (Info resources\International Review\2006 - No. 862) International Review of the Red Cross Includes PDF 28-1-2003 Special issue of the International Review of the Red CrossThis special issue examines protection work and restoration of family links, support for the families of missing persons, collection and management of personal data, and mechanisms for handling cases of missing persons. (Focus\Missing persons) International Review of the Red Cross Interview27-8-2007 The Missing: preventing disappearances and finding answersOn the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared on 30 August, Renée Zellweger Monin, head of the ICRC's Task Force on the Missing, talks about how the organization is working to prevent disappearances and bring news to the long-suffering families of the missing. (Focus\Missing persons) Interview Includes Photo Photo Collection21-8-2008 Missing persons in Nepal: the right to know In 2001 following the breakdown in the truce between the government and the Maoists, 20 young men left home in Jogimara, Dhading District to work on an airport runway being built 800 km away in western Nepal. Seventeen of them never returned. (Info resources\Photos\Asia and the Pacific) Photo Collection Includes Photo 29-2-2008 Women and the Missing: living between hope and despair A large majority of those who disappear or are killed in armed conflict or other situations of violence are men, and thus the burden and anguish of clarifying their fate falls to the women left behind. This collection of images and text describes the ordeals women face when their male relatives go missing and what the ICRC is doing to support them. (Info resources\Photos) Photo Collection Includes Photo 14-9-2007 Peru: turning the right to know into reality Years after the end of the conflict that rocked Peru in the 1980s, many families still do not know what happened to relatives who disappeared. The ICRC is supporting efforts by a number of State and civil society bodies to end the suffering of these families and to turn their right to know into reality. (Info resources\Photos\The Americas) Photo Collection Includes Photo 23-8-2007 The Missing: the faces of those left behind This collection of images and text illustrates the worldwide human tragedy of the missing and describes the ICRC's efforts to prevent disappearances and help families of the victims learn the fate of their loved ones. (Info resources\Photos) Photo Collection Includes Photo Press article26-5-2009 BBC: the lost children of East TimorDuring Indonesia's 25-year occupation of East Timor, thousands of Timorese children were taken to Indonesia by soldiers, civilians, and institutions. Many families are still waiting to be reunited. The ICRC and Indonesia Red Cross Society are still working to put those children (some are adults now) back in touch with their families. (The ICRC worldwide\Asia and the Pacific\Timor-Leste) Press article Includes Video 29-4-2008 The Missing: a hidden tragedyUncertainty about the fate of their loved ones is a harsh reality for countless families of people unaccounted for as a result of armed conflict or internal violence. Much remains to be done to address this pressing humanitarian issue and to help families cope with the trauma - Article published in the Red Cross Red Crescent Magazine, No 1, 2008. (Focus\Missing persons) Press article Video Collection18-10-2007 Nepal: the wait continuesIn November 2001, twenty workers from Jogimara in Dhading District headed off to Kalikot to work at the airport construction site: 17 of them did not return home. There has been no official word on their fate and their families have no idea what happened to them. (Info resources\Video) Video Collection Includes Video More in this section13-3-2003 "The Missing": Documentation of reference databaseThis database is portail on public documentation regarding the issue of persons unaccounted for, due to armed conflict or internal violence, and of their families. It should raise awareness about this tragic human problem and support the activities of all actors involved in preventing persons from becoming unaccounted for, in clarifying the fate of those who have become missing and in supporting their families. (Focus\Missing persons) Other site8-2-2007 International Federation of Family Associations of Missing Persons from Armed ConflictsIFFAMPAC is an international humanitarian non-governmental organization working with family associations of missing persons from armed conflicts worldwide. IFFAMPAC focuses on the surviving families of armed conflict who face tremendous social, economic, legal, and cultural challenges when a primary economic provider of the family vanishes and cannot be accounted for as a result of conflict. (Info resources\Other sites\Non-governmental organizations) Other site 23-2-2005 International Tracing Service in ArolsenThe International Tracing Service at Bad Arolsen (ITS) serves victims of Nazi persecutions and their families by documenting their fate through the archives it manages. The ITS preserves these historic records and makes them available for research. (Info resources\Other sites\Red Cross and Red Crescent) Other site  |
