Missing persons

International law requires each party to the conflict to search for persons reported missing by an adverse party, as soon as circumstances permit and at the latest from the end of active hostilities.

See also Family reunification [1]; Dead persons [2]; Tracing [3]; Central Tracing Agency [4];

OUTLINE

Chapter 7, VII. Provisions on the Dead and Missing [5]

Chapter 8, II. 2. e) restoring family links [6]

LEGAL SOURCE

obligation to search for persons reported missing

PI, 33/1 [7]

CIHL, 117 [8]

DOCUMENT

ICRC, Tracing Service [9]

CASES

Bangladesh/India/Pakistan, 1974 Agreement (Art. 12) [10]

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Coard v. United States [11]

ECHR, Cyprus v. Turkey (Paras. 129-150) [12]

Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Bámaca-Velasquez v. Guatemala [13]

The Conflict in Western Sahara (Parts A. and B.) [14]

Colombia Peace Agreement [15]

Central African Republic/Democratic Republic of Congo/Uganda, LRA attacks [16]

Cameroon, Dead and Missing Persons [17]

UN, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances: Report on Mission to Serbia, including Kosovo [18]

BIBLIOGRAPHIC RESOURCES

Special Issue “Missing Persons”, in IRRC, No. 848, December 2002, pp. 720-902.

SASSÒLI Marco, “Les disparus de guerre : Les règles du droit international et les besoins des familles entre espoir et incertitude”, in Frontières, vol. 15/2, Spring 2003, pp. 38-44.

ICRC & Inter-Parliamentary Union, Missing Persons: A Handbook for Parliamentarians, Geneva, ICRC, 2009, 92 p.

ICRC, Missing people, DNAanalysis and identification of human remains: a guide to best practice in armed conflicts and other situations of armed violence, Geneva, ICRC, 2009, 48 p.

PETRIG Anna, “The War Dead and their Gravesites”, in IRRC, Vol. 91, No. 874, June 2009, pp. 341-369

SASSÒLI Marco & TOUGAS Marie-Louise, “The ICRC and the Missing”, in IRRC, No. 848, December 2002, pp. 727-750.

Links
[1] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/family-reunification
[2] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/dead-persons
[3] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/tracing
[4] https://casebook.icrc.org/glossary/central-tracing-agency
[5] https://casebook.icrc.org/law/wounded-sick-shipwrecked-dead-and-missing#chapter8
[6] https://casebook.icrc.org/law/civilian-population#ii_2_e
[7] https://www.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl.nsf/Article.xsp?action=openDocument&documentId=B9AC1957F13CFC98C12563CD0051DA78
[8] https://www.icrc.org/customary-ihl/eng/docs/v1_rul_rule117
[9] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/icrc-tracing-service
[10] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/bangladeshindiapakistan-1974-agreement#art_12
[11] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/inter-american-commission-human-rights-coard-v-united-states
[12] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/echr-cyprus-v-turkey#para_129
[13] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/inter-american-court-human-rights-bamaca-velasquez-v-guatemala
[14] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/conflict-western-sahara
[15] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/colombia-peace-agreement
[16] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/central-african-republicdemocratic-republic-congouganda-lra-attacks
[17] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/cameroon-dead-and-missing-persons
[18] https://casebook.icrc.org/case-study/un-working-group-enforced-or-involuntary-disappearances-report-mission-serbia-including