Share
The Hague, 16 February 2026: The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has published a comprehensive report on the issue of missing persons in Libya. Representatives of Libya’s General Authority for the Search and Identification of Missing Persons (GASIMP), led by Chair Prof. Dr. Kamal Abubaker, attended the formal launch of the report today at ICMP’s Headquarters in The Hague.
“Missing Persons in Libya: Applying Global Good Practice” examines the nature and scale of the missing-persons challenge, assesses current legal and institutional frameworks, and sets out practical recommendations covering legal reform, family engagement, forensic capacity, and data systems to help Libya build a sustainable, rights-based missing persons process.
Key recommendations include establishing a national register of missing persons, developing a centralized data management system, strengthening forensic and DNA laboratory capacity, and ensuring robust data-protection and family-support measures.
“This report brings together international experience and practical guidance to support Libyan authorities in addressing the issue of missing persons, while keeping the rights of families of the missing at the center of the process,” said ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger. “ICMP looks forward to working with GASIMP on implementing strategies and initiatives at GASIMP’s request.”
The report estimates the number of missing persons in Libya at between 10,000 and 20,000 as a result of conflict, migration, natural disasters and other factors. GASIMP is expanding its national database to address cases within a comprehensive national framework based on scientific methods.
“We appreciate ICMP’s technical support and look forward to making use of the report’s recommendations and tools in ways that serve families and strengthen national capacity,” said GASIMP Chair Prof. Dr. Kamal Abubaker.
The report was made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) and the Government of the Netherlands.
About ICMP
ICMP is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons as a result of armed conflicts, human rights abuses, natural and man-made disasters and other involuntary reasons and to assist them in doing so.
