Below is an article published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Since 1998, the ICRC has played an active role in the search for the people who disappeared during the armed conflict in Kosovo in order to support the families’ right to know what happened to their loved ones. Today, after 18 years, 1,666 people are still missing and their families continue to live in uncertainty, waiting for news. For this reason, the ICRC carries on its work.

As soon as the conflicts broke out in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the ICRC, together with other components of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, launched an extensive field operation in response to rising humanitarian needs.

Today, the ICRC maintains its dialogue with all sides to remind them of their obligations under international humanitarian law, particularly to respect the right of families to know what happened to their relatives. In order to facilitate the search for answers, the ICRC has submitted relevant documentation to the responsible authorities with all available information. As a result of joint efforts, the number of missing persons has been halved from 3,200 to 1,666 over the past 10 years.

Inspired by the courage, persistence and dignity of these families, and upon the demand of concerned parties, the ICRC continues to Chair the Working Group on Missing Persons, a strictly humanitarian mechanism that aims at providing an answer to concerned families. Additionally, the ICRC negotiated access to the archives of the international institutions that worked in Kosovo during and after the conflict, to gather all existing documentation useful for the search. It has also supported authorities towards the development of appropriate laws and regulations as well as the proper management of human remains. The ICRC continues to assist families of missing persons through the painful process of searching and, when relevant, receiving the human remains pertaining to their relatives. For instance, ad hoc psychosocial projects have been developed, amongst others. The ICRC also organises workshops and joint events with families of missing persons and authorities, civil society, and the media, to help raise awareness on the families’ specific needs.