يشارك
[:en]Sarajevo, 9 October 2023: In a significant step towards strengthening the process of locating and identifying missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Delegation of European Union to BIH and Embassy of Sweden to BIH have donated essential equipment to the Missing Persons Institute of BiH as part of its continued support to the Institute and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP). This donation reflects the EU commitment to supporting the Bosnia and Herzegovina and the ICMP in its efforts to locate and investigate the disappearance of missing persons from the conflicts of the 1990s in line with the rule of law.
Head of the EU Delegation and EU Special Representative in BiH Ambassador Johann Sattler visited the BiH Missing Persons Institute today to officially hand over the Integrated Data Management System (iDMS), a cutting-edge software solution developed by the ICMP in close cooperation with the Missing Persons Institute of BiH. The ultimate objective was to customize the iDMS to match the Institute’s specific needs and the challenges encountered in safeguarding the Central Record of missing persons as well as ensuring analyses of large amounts of personal and forensic data.
“This donation is only one part of our continuous assistance for efforts aimed at accounting for the missing, including supporting the work of ICMP and assisting the relevant BiH authorities to fulfil their obligations towards the families of the missing. Families have the right to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives. This is not only our common moral duty, but it would also contribute to strengthening the rule of law, peace and stability in the country. Lasting peace and reconciliation cannot be achieved without a credible and effective effort to account for the missing and to bring those responsible for their disappearance to justice”, said Ambassador Johann Sattler.
The customized version of the iDMS will enable the BiH Missing Persons Institute to collect, store, share, and analyze data on missing persons and their families, as well as data on exhumations, forensic examinations, and DNA analysis. This unique software tool will facilitate seamless data exchange between the field offices of the Institute.
“The modified and customized version of iDMS is a tool that will enable us to efficiently exchange data stored in the database between investigators in our regional and field offices and the Central Registry of the Missing Persons. I would like to emphasize the possibility of resolving about 1,600 NN cases from which a DNA profile was isolated but until now, we did not have a match with the blood reference samples donated by the families of the missing persons. We believe that precisely in many of these cases mistakes were made at the time when the victims were identified using the classic method before the establishment of DNA analysis”, stated Chairman of the Board of Directors of the BiH Missing Persons Institute Nikola Perisic.
The European Union has so far provided 16 million euros to support the ICMP and the BiH authorities to strengthen their capacities in the search and identification of mission persons in BiH. In addition, with the objective of transferring all the processes to the national authorities, the EU has equipped the DNA state level laboratory and will finance specialized training for the laboratory staff.
Furthermore, with EU financial assistance, the ICMP has developed a Case Management database to streamline the processing of unidentified human remains cases in mortuaries across BiH. The Case Management database, a pioneering initiative by ICMP, serves as a central repository for all active NN cases. It is populated with data meticulously gathered during the review of NN cases that was carried out in BiH mortuary facilities from 2013 to 2018. The database not only consolidates this critical information, it facilitates the implementation of recommendations outlined in the NN Review Report, another crucial project funded by the European Union.
Deputy Head of ICMP Western Balkans Program Samira Krehic emphasized the significance of this collaboration: “Over the past 25 years, with the assistance of ICMP and its donors, the BiH authorities have successfully accounted for an impressive 75 percent of the 30,000 people who were missing from the conflict. This donation is a critical step forward in enhancing BiH capacity to account for the remaining missing persons and underscores the collective commitment to resolving the missing persons issue and to fostering a sense of closure and healing for the affected families and communities in BiH”.
It is expected that these efforts will significantly enhance the efficiency of the BiH Missing Persons Institute and the BiH Prosecutor’s Office, leading to the resolution of a higher number of cases and consequently reducing the overall number of missing person cases in BIH.
About ICMP
ICMP is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization with Headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the co-operation of governments and other authorities in locating persons missing as a result of conflicts, human rights abuses, disasters, organized violence and other causes and to assist them in doing so.[:bs]Sarajevo, 9. oktobar 2023. godine: Kao značajan korak ka jačanju procesa pronalaženja i identifikacije nestalih osoba u Bosni i Hercegovini, Delegacija Evropske unije i ambasada Švedske u BIH su Institutu za nestale osobe BiH donirala neophodnu opremu u okviru kontinuirane podrške Institutu i Međunarodnoj komisiji za nestale osobe (ICMP). Ova donacija odražava posvećenost EU podršci Bosni i Hercegovini i ICMP-u u njegovim nastojanjima da se u skladu s vladavinom prava pronađu i istraže nestanci osoba u sukobima 1990-ih godina.
Šef Delegacije EU i specijalni predstavnik EU u BiH ambasador Johann Sattler posjetio je Institut za nestale osobe danas kako bi zvanično uručio Integrirani sistem za upravljanje podacima (iDMS), najmodernije softversko rješenje koje je ICMP razvio u bliskoj saradnji s Institutom za nestale osobe BiH. Krajnji cilj je bio da se iDMS prilagodi kako bi odgovarao konkretnim potrebama Instituta i izazovima sa kojima se suočava u čuvanju Centralne evidencije nestalih osoba i osiguravanju analize velike količine ličnih i forenzičkih podataka.
“Ova donacija je samo jedan dio naše kontinuirane pomoći naporima usmjerenim ka traženju nestalih, uključujući podršku radu ICMP-a i pomoć nadležnim organima u BiH u ispunjavanu njihovih obaveza prema porodicama nestalih osoba. Porodice imaju pravo znati sudbinu svojih nestalih srodnika i mjesto gdje se oni nalaze. To nije samo naša zajednička moralna obaveza, već će to također doprinijeti jačanju vladavine prava, mira i stabilnosti u BiH. Trajni mir i pomirenje se ne mogu postići bez uvjerljivog i efikasnog nastojanja da se pronađu nestale osobe a odgovorni za njihov nestanak privedu licu pravde ”, kazao je ambasador Johann Sattler.
Prilagođena verzija iDMS-a će omogućiti Institutu za nestale osobe BiH da prikuplja, pohranjuje, dijeli i analizira podatke o nestalim osobama i njihovim porodicama, kao i podatke o ekshumacijama, forenzičkoj obradi i analizi DNK. Ovaj jedinstveni softverski alat olakšat će nesmetanu razmjenu podataka između terenskih ureda Instituta.
“Modifikovana i prilagođena verzija iDMS-a je alat koji će omogućiti efikasnu razmjenu podatka pohranjenih u bazi podataka između istražitelja u našim područnim i terenskim uredima i Centralne evidencije nestalih osoba. Želio bih naglasiti mogućnost rješavanja oko 1.600 NN slučajeva sa kojih je izolovan DNK profil, ali do danas nismo imali podudaranje s referentnim uzorcima krvi koje su ustupile porodice nestalih osoba. Vjerujemo da su upravo u mnogim od ovih slučajeva napravljene greške u vrijeme kada su žrtve identifikovane klasičnom metodom prije uvođenja analize DNK”, izjavio je predsjedavajući Kolegija direktora Instituta za nestale osobe Nikola Perišić.
Evropske unija je do sada donirala 16 miliona eura pomoći ICMP-u i organima u BiH kako bi se osnažili njihovi kapaciteti za traženje i identifikaciju nestalih osoba u BiH. Pored toga, u cilju prenošenja procesa na domaće organe, EU je opremila laboratoriju za analizu DNK na državnom nivou i finansirat će specijaliziranu obuku za uposlene u laboratoriji.
Nadalje, uz finansijsku pomoć EU-a ICMP je uspostavio bazu podataka za vođenje slučajeva kako bi se uredila obrada slučajeva neidentifikovanih posmrtnih ostataka u mrtvačnicama diljem BiH. Baza podataka za upravljanje slučajevima, koja predstavlja pionirsku inicijativu ICMP-a, služi kao centralni repozitorij za sve aktivne NN slučajeve. Popunjena je podacima koji su pažljivo prikupljani tokom pregleda stanja NN slučajeva koji je u periodu od 2013. do 2018. godine proveden u objektima mrtvačnica u BiH. Baza podataka ne samo da objedinjuje ove ključne informacije, već omogućava i realizaciju preporuka koje su navedene u Izvještaju o pregledu stanja NN slučajeva koji predstavlja još jedan ključni projekat koji je finansirala Evropska unija.
Zamjenica šefa Programa za zapadni Balkan, Samira Krehić istakla je značaj ove saradnje: “U proteklih 25 godina, uz pomoć ICMP-a i njegovih donatora, vlasti u BiH su uspješno pronašle impresivnih 75 posto od 30.000 osoba koje su se vodile kao nestale u sukobu. Ova donacija je ključni iskorak ka jačanju kapaciteta BiH za traženje preostalih nestalih osoba te naglašava zajedničku posvećenost rješavanju pitanja nestalih osoba i stvaranja osjećaja smiraja i zaliječenja za pogođene porodice i zajednice u BiH ”.
Očekuje se da će ova nastojanja značajno unaprijediti efikasnost Instituta za nestale osobe BiH i Tužilaštva BiH, što će dovesti do rješavanja većeg broja slučajeva i shodno tome smanjenu ukupnog broja slučajeva nestalih osoba u BiH.
O ICMP-u
ICMP je sporazumom utemeljena međunarodna organizacija sa sjedištem u Hagu u Nizozemskoj. Njegov mandat je da osigura saradnju vlada i drugih organa vlasti u pronalaženju osoba nestalih uslijed sukoba, povreda ljudskih prava, nesreća, organiziranog kriminala, ilegalnih migracija i drugih razloga, te da im pruži pomoć u tim procesima.[:]
