United Nations,: The 15 members of the United Nations Security Council adopted the very first ever resolution focused on the issue of missing persons in armed conflict.
The aim is to encourage countries to fulfil their obligations, take action to step up prevention, and tackle the issue earlier, so that ultimately families separated by conflict can be reunited, or at least given answers as to the fate of their loved ones.
“Alarming numbers of persons go missing in armed conflict,” said Reena Ghelani, who heads operations and advocacy at the UN’s humanitarian coordination office, OCHA, and was briefing on behalf of UN relief chief Mark Lowcock.
There are no comprehensive figures on the number of persons that go missing every year but the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) – the non-profit organisation that traditionally coordinates efforts regarding the protection of civilians in conflicts worldwide – has recorded over 10,000 cases in Syria, and over 13,000 requests for assistance on this matter in Nigeria alone.
Persons can go missing in conflict due to a complex variety of reasons. They could be captured by warring parties and held in secret locations; they can be victims of extrajudicial executions and buried in unmarked location; they can be families separated during the chaos of attempting to flee violence, and more.
“Whatever the circumstances, the families of the missing are left in a state of absolute despair, not knowing the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones,” Ms Ghelani stressed.
She explained that when the missing person is the breadwinner of the family, the economic impact can be devastating, and that relatives left behind often face legal, administrative or cultural challenges that make it hard to remarry, claim their inheritance, or receive benefits.
UNI.
