{"id":57608,"date":"2026-08-27T11:18:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/?p=57608"},"modified":"2026-08-27T11:18:55","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:18:55","slug":"progress-in-efforts-to-resolve-missing-persons-cases-from-the-kosovo-conflict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/news\/progress-in-efforts-to-resolve-missing-persons-cases-from-the-kosovo-conflict\/","title":{"rendered":"Progress in Efforts to Resolve Missing Persons Cases from the Kosovo Conflict"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Pristina, 26 August 2026<\/strong> \u2013 Representatives of Kosovo institutions, families of missing persons, the Government of Sweden and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) gathered in Pristina today to mark progress in Kosovo’s efforts to account for persons who remain missing from the 1998\u20132000 conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event marked the conclusion of a two-year project supported by the Government of Sweden through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), while also highlighting the importance of continued efforts to resolve the cases of those who remain missing and to support their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event followed a donation ceremony at the Kosovo Forensic Agency (KFA) on 25 August, where the fourth and final donation of forensic equipment and chemicals under the project was made to strengthen Kosovo’s domestic capacity to process and analyze human remains. Three KFA DNA specialists also completed specialized training in post-mortem sample processing at ICMP’s laboratory in The Hague in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results achieved during the project demonstrate the contribution that strengthened national forensic capacity can make to resolving cases of missing persons. Between September 2024 and August 2026, 153 bone samples received from the Kosovo Institute of Forensic Medicine were processed, while 203 family reference samples were collected and processed in cooperation with the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons. During the same period, 151 DNA reports were submitted to the Commission, including 60 new DNA identifications and 81 reassociations, linking mortal remains to previously identified missing persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLasting progress in addressing missing persons depends on strong national ownership of the process and institutions equipped to carry it forward. At the same time, the rights and needs of families must remain at the center. ICMP is committed to continuing to support Kosovo institutions with the expertise and tools they need to account for persons who remain missing,\u201d said Samira Krehic, Head of ICMP’s Western Balkans Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden has been an important partner in supporting Kosovo’s efforts to strengthen its capacity to address missing persons. Its support will continue, alongside ICMP’s technical assistance to Kosovo institutions in forensic identification, data management and engagement with families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring these last few years, we can see key achievements in the work of ICMP and their collaborations with Kosovo institutions. The number of unresolved cases has been reduced and the DNA-led identification process has been strengthened, which is so important as the families of each missing persons case deserves to gain clarity on what happened to their beloved ones. Sweden is happy to continue the support to ICMP for the coming three years to further strengthen the institutional capacity and ownership for the processes of identifying missing persons, data management improvements and regional cooperation\u201d said Sara Lindblom, Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, Embassy of Sweden in Pristina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project also strengthened Kosovo’s capacity to manage and use information relating to missing persons and identification efforts. Additional modules of ICMP’s Integrated Data Management System (iDMS), a secure system for managing and analyzing missing persons data, were deployed for the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Families of missing persons were an integral part of the project. They participated in meetings with Kosovo institutions and other stakeholders, including a regional meeting with the government commissions of Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia in February 2026 and a meeting with Kosovo institutions in June. Seven grants were also provided to associations of families of missing persons to support their work and participation in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe conclusion of a successful project should not be seen as the end of engagement, but as proof of the results achieved and a step toward a new phase. Our cooperation has strengthened Kosovo’s human and institutional capacities, but the issue of missing persons remains above all an obligation to families and a responsibility to the truth. The results achieved must serve as the foundation for our continued efforts to resolve the fate of those who remain missing,\u201d said Agron Limani, Head of the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than 25 years after the end of the conflict, Kosovo institutions continue to work to establish the fate and whereabouts of those who remain missing. Since 2003, more than 2,700 missing persons cases have been resolved through effective forensic work, including ICMP DNA testing. Approximately 2,000 cases had been identified through non-DNA methods before 2003, including visual identifications. An estimated 1,600 people remain missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conclusion of the project therefore represents both an important milestone and a continuation of Kosovo’s longer-term effort to account for those who remain missing. With continued support from Sweden, and technical assistance from ICMP, Kosovo institutions will continue to strengthen forensic and data capacities, pursue further identifications and ensure that families of the missing remain informed and engaged in efforts to resolve the fate of their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About ICMP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ICMP is a treaty-based intergovernmental organization headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands. Its mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons resulting from conflict, human rights abuses, disasters, organized crime, migration and other causes, and to assist them in doing so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pristina, 26 August 2026 \u2013 Representatives of Kosovo institutions, families of missing persons, the Government of Sweden and the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) gathered in Pristina today to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":57609,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,55],"tags":[118,85,60,195,240],"class_list":["post-57608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-press-releases","tag-disappeared","tag-kosovo","tag-missing-persons","tag-samira-krehic","tag-sweden"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57614,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57608\/revisions\/57614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icmp.int\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}