The participants discussed the achievements and ongoing challenges related to the search for missing persons and to the identification process. This dialogue, guided by the humanitarian principles of the coordination mechanism, remains crucial for providing families of missing persons with answers.

It was for the last time that Agnès Coutou, the ICRC Envoy on Missing Persons in the Caucasus, chaired the meeting on behalf of the ICRC as she is concluding her mandate in June. The Envoy introduced Dena Fisher, ICRC’s Operations Coordinator who is working at HQ in Geneva for the Eurasia Region, who will take over the role of the chair.

„For decades, families have lived with uncertainty about what happened to their loved ones. Their need for answers does not diminish with times. The sustained work of this mechanism remains essential to ensuring that their right to know is respected. As I conclude my mandate, I remain confident that the mechanism will continue its critical work with the same cooperation and sense of responsibility to addressing the issue of missing persons“, said Agnès Coutou. 

„The ICRC reiterates its longstanding commitment as a neutral intermediary and will keep supporting participants to uphold their obligations towards the missing people“. 

Under international humanitarian law, families have the right to know what happened to their missing loved ones. The coordination mechanism to clarify the fate and whereabouts of people unaccounted for during the conflict of 1992-93 and its aftermath was established in 2010 under the auspices of the ICRC. The ICRC provides support to the mechanism, including technical expertise, in its capacity as a neutral humanitarian organization.

For further information, please contact:
Maya Kardava, ICRC Tbilisi, Tel : +995 5 99 55 88 18
Boris Kazanba, ICRC Sukhum/i, Tel.: +794 09 215 373