Search for the Missing
In times of armed conflict, people all too often get separated in the chaos of fighting, displacement and the struggle for survival. For families, this can mean weeks, months or even years of anguish and distress – but also of hope that their loved ones will return one day. Under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, States have obligations to prevent people from going missing and to provide families with information if they do. In this podcast, we’re looking particularly at how these obligations are reflected in the work of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency Bureau for the international armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine (CTA Bureau) and how they help alleviate the suffering of families waiting for news.
Episodes
5 episodes
Family's Right to Know
Families have the right to know what happened to their loved ones. They also have the right to see their family's life and unity preserved. Ximena Londoño, ICRC legal advisor, and Anastasia Kushleyko, strategy advisor at the CTA Bureau, explain...
Respecting and Caring for the Dead
When people are killed in armed conflict, the states concerned must ensure that their bodies are identified and handed over to their families as soon as possible. This is not only a legal obligation that they must comply with, it is also a huma...
How to Search for Missing Persons
The Geneva Conventions require all states to prevent people from going missing and to search for those who do. Jose Serralvo, ICRC legal advisor, details these obligations. He is joined by Jérôme Cassou, data manager at the ICRC CTA Bureau for ...
Accounting for the Missing in Armed Conflict
States parties to an international armed conflict have an unconditional obligation to account for enemy soldiers and civilians in their hands, whether alive, wounded or dead. They must in particular set up National Information Bureaus (NIBs) to...
The ICRC Central Tracing Agency
Restoring family links has been at the heart of the ICRC's mandate since the organization's earliest days. ICRC researcher Cédric Cotter explains how the role of the ICRC Central Tracing Agency has evolved since the Basel Agency for the Franco-...
