Search Continues for People Missing in Connection with Armed Conflicts of the 1990s and August 2008 and their aftermath

The participants presented an update on the progress made since the last meeting of the Coordination Mechanism and the ongoing challenges related to the process.  They also discussed the importance of obtaining and exchanging information - including about possible burial places - to clarify what happened to missing people and provide answers to their families.

“Advancing the search for 116 missing people is crucial and their families shall be kept up to date about the work performed by the sides and the ICRC. This humanitarian platform is necessary for an effective and sustainable process. According to international humanitarian law (IHL), families of missing people have the right to know what happened to their loved ones; the participants to the Coordination Mechanism shall support them in getting answers,” 

- stated Agnès Coutou, the ICRC Envoy on Missing Persons in the Caucasus.

It was for the last time that Agnès Coutou, the ICRC Envoy, chaired the meeting on behalf of the ICRC as she is concluding her mandate in June. The Envoy introduced Dena Fisher, ICRC’s operations coordinator at headquarters in Geneva for the Europe and Central Asia region, who will take over the role of chair.