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Berlin, 1 October 2024: Senior representatives of the Missing Persons Group (MPG) and the Regional Committee of the Regional Coordination Network of Associations of Families of Missing Persons from the former Yugoslavia (RCN) have briefed EU Foreign Ministers at the Berlin Process Summit, on progress that has been made to account for missing persons from the conflicts of the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia.
The MPG, which includes representatives from missing persons institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia, presented its fifth Performance Report this week. The report reviews progress, and highlights challenges such as the lack of credible new information on the location of the 11,000 persons who are still missing from the regional conflicts.
To date, more than 75 percent of the 40,000 persons missing from these conflicts have been accounted for. The Report stresses that continued collaboration between regional institutions and families of the missing and political support from the international community are key to finding missing persons and securing the rights of families of the missing.
“We ask for your active participation and support to account for the remaining 11,000 missing persons and to end the agony of their families, which has lasted for over 30 years. Restoring the identities of the victims and fulfilling the rights of families is a prerequisite for security and prosperity in the Western Balkans and in Europe” said Haki Kasumi, President of the Regional Committee of the Regional Coordination Network of Associations of Families of Missing Persons from the former Yugoslavia.
“Since the MPG’s establishment in 2018, we have made significant progress. We have created the Database of Active Missing Persons Cases from Conflicts on the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia, a unique platform that allows families and the public to access vital information about all persons missing from the conflicts. We have also reduced the number of unidentified human remains through cross-border cooperation, showcasing the power of collaboration in addressing large-scale disappearances. Continued support for this platform is not just about addressing the past – it is an investment in the future stability and security of the region,” said Saliha Djuderija, Chairwoman of the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina, speaking on behalf of the MPG.
The MPG representatives signed a Framework Plan at the Headquarters of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in 2018, based on a Declaration signed in London in July 2018, in which the Prime Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Croatia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Slovenia and Poland reiterated their commitment to supporting efforts to account for those still missing from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia. The activities of the MPG under the Framework Plan over the last several years have been financially supported by the United Kingdom and Germany.
“The MPG is crucial in coordinating efforts to resolve cases of missing persons and ensuring transparency and accountability,” ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger said today. “The involvement of families is central, as their resilience guides the process and ensures that it remains focused on justice. The continuation of the MPG’s work is essential, as it provides the necessary framework to build trust and confidence between former adversaries and among families of the missing across the region.”
A day prior to the presentation at the Berlin Process Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the MPG held its tenth annual meeting and met with the Regional Coordination Network of Associations of Families of Missing Persons from the former Yugoslavia in the format of the Forum of Families of the Missing, to discuss strategies to account for missing persons.
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.
