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ICRC: Missing persons must not be forgotten
16:01 28.08.2014
In the run-up to the International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August,
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on the
international community to show greater awareness of the tragedy of
people who have gone missing and the plight of their families.
Hundreds of thousands of people in all parts of the world have
disappeared as a consequence of armed conflict, natural
disasterormigration. Each person who vanishes leaves behind a large
number of people -the family in particular -suffering the anguish of
not knowing what happened.
"When people disappear, there are two kinds of victims: the
individuals who have gone missing and their families, torn between
despair and hope, living with uncertainty and pain, waiting for news,
sometimes for decades," explained Marianne Pecassou, who heads the
activities carried out by the ICRC for missing persons and their
families. Although what the families need more than anything else is
to find out just what happened to their relatives, they also need an
appropriate way to honour the memory of their missing loved ones.
"They struggle against forgetting. Commemorative ceremonies offer them
public acknowledgement of their suffering, give them a voice and bring
them out of isolation," said Ms Pecassou.
In some places, the numbers of people who have disappeared are
staggering. In Colombia, for example, over68,000 peopleare still
missing, out of more than 90,000 initially reported as such. In Sri
Lanka, the fate and whereabouts of more than 16,000 people remain
unknown.In Peru,between 13,000 and 16,000 people have vanished and
their families are still waiting for news. And more than 11,000 people
of a total of almost 35,000 reported to the ICRC who went missing in
connection with the Balkan conflicts are still unaccounted for
"States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to
take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of
people who have gone missing and to inform their families
accordingly," said Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at a
commemorative event at ICRC headquarters attended by government
representatives and members of the humanitarian and diplomatic
communities of Geneva.
The plight of people who have disappeared- and the suffering of their
families, all too often ignored - has been a constant concern of the
ICRC. The organization is currently attempting to establish the fate
and whereabouts of more than 52,000 people. "This figure is just the
tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the
attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people
remain unaccounted for around the world," said Ms Pecassou. Besides
working directly with the families of missing persons, the ICRC plays
an important role in bringing the issue of the missing onto the public
agenda. It urges the authorities to take action aimed at responding to
the needs of the families and encourages the search for their missing
loved ones.
To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, the ICRC is
unveiling a new publication entitled "Living with Absence:Helping the
Families of the Missing," which highlights the ordeal of people
unaccounted for, underlines the multiple needs of the families and
describes the tailored responses the ICRC is providing. The content is
enriched by personal narratives of relatives of missing persons.
In Armenia, there are more than 400 people registered as missing in
relation to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. Since the beginning of its
humanitarian mission in the region in 1992, the ICRC has been working
closely with the authorities towards clarifying the fate of those
people and addressing the needs of their families.
In support to the authorities' efforts to provide answers to the
families about the fate of their loved ones, the ICRC has been
implementing the detailed data collection programme. This includes the
collection of biological reference samples from the families of the
missing, which would increase the probability of the identification of
human remains. The ICRC also promotes the adaptation of the national
legal framework as related to the issue, working closely with
respective state authorities.
The organisation works countrywide with the families of the missing
offering them material assistance via house renovations and
micro-economic projects to start up small businesses and obtain
employable skills. Together with the Armenian Red Cross Society and
other local partners, the ICRC also provides psycho-social support to
the families, helping them to cope with the trauma of their loss and
to resolve their health, legal and social issues.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/08/28/icrc-missing-persons-must-not-be-forgotten/
16:01 28.08.2014
In the run-up to the International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August,
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on the
international community to show greater awareness of the tragedy of
people who have gone missing and the plight of their families.
Hundreds of thousands of people in all parts of the world have
disappeared as a consequence of armed conflict, natural
disasterormigration. Each person who vanishes leaves behind a large
number of people -the family in particular -suffering the anguish of
not knowing what happened.
"When people disappear, there are two kinds of victims: the
individuals who have gone missing and their families, torn between
despair and hope, living with uncertainty and pain, waiting for news,
sometimes for decades," explained Marianne Pecassou, who heads the
activities carried out by the ICRC for missing persons and their
families. Although what the families need more than anything else is
to find out just what happened to their relatives, they also need an
appropriate way to honour the memory of their missing loved ones.
"They struggle against forgetting. Commemorative ceremonies offer them
public acknowledgement of their suffering, give them a voice and bring
them out of isolation," said Ms Pecassou.
In some places, the numbers of people who have disappeared are
staggering. In Colombia, for example, over68,000 peopleare still
missing, out of more than 90,000 initially reported as such. In Sri
Lanka, the fate and whereabouts of more than 16,000 people remain
unknown.In Peru,between 13,000 and 16,000 people have vanished and
their families are still waiting for news. And more than 11,000 people
of a total of almost 35,000 reported to the ICRC who went missing in
connection with the Balkan conflicts are still unaccounted for
"States have an obligation under international humanitarian law to
take all feasible measures to clarify the fate and whereabouts of
people who have gone missing and to inform their families
accordingly," said Christine Beerli, vice-president of the ICRC, at a
commemorative event at ICRC headquarters attended by government
representatives and members of the humanitarian and diplomatic
communities of Geneva.
The plight of people who have disappeared- and the suffering of their
families, all too often ignored - has been a constant concern of the
ICRC. The organization is currently attempting to establish the fate
and whereabouts of more than 52,000 people. "This figure is just the
tip of the iceberg, since these cases are only the ones brought to the
attention of the ICRC by relatives. We know that many more people
remain unaccounted for around the world," said Ms Pecassou. Besides
working directly with the families of missing persons, the ICRC plays
an important role in bringing the issue of the missing onto the public
agenda. It urges the authorities to take action aimed at responding to
the needs of the families and encourages the search for their missing
loved ones.
To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, the ICRC is
unveiling a new publication entitled "Living with Absence:Helping the
Families of the Missing," which highlights the ordeal of people
unaccounted for, underlines the multiple needs of the families and
describes the tailored responses the ICRC is providing. The content is
enriched by personal narratives of relatives of missing persons.
In Armenia, there are more than 400 people registered as missing in
relation to the Nagorny Karabakh conflict. Since the beginning of its
humanitarian mission in the region in 1992, the ICRC has been working
closely with the authorities towards clarifying the fate of those
people and addressing the needs of their families.
In support to the authorities' efforts to provide answers to the
families about the fate of their loved ones, the ICRC has been
implementing the detailed data collection programme. This includes the
collection of biological reference samples from the families of the
missing, which would increase the probability of the identification of
human remains. The ICRC also promotes the adaptation of the national
legal framework as related to the issue, working closely with
respective state authorities.
The organisation works countrywide with the families of the missing
offering them material assistance via house renovations and
micro-economic projects to start up small businesses and obtain
employable skills. Together with the Armenian Red Cross Society and
other local partners, the ICRC also provides psycho-social support to
the families, helping them to cope with the trauma of their loss and
to resolve their health, legal and social issues.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/08/28/icrc-missing-persons-must-not-be-forgotten/