Civilian Protection and Missing Persons in Conflict Zones: UN Security Council Briefing

Escalating Crisis of Missing Persons in Conflicts

• 📈 The number of people affected by armed conflicts, including those reported missing, has significantly increased.
• 🚨 In 2024 alone, the ICRC registered 56,000 new cases of missing persons, highlighting a dire global situation.
• ⚖️ International humanitarian law prohibits enforced disappearance and mandates parties to conflict to account for missing persons and inform their families.

Specific Conflict Zone Concerns

• 💔 In Gaza, an estimated 58 Israeli hostages remain unaccounted for, with 35 presumed dead, and Israel is withholding the remains of deceased Palestinians.
• 🇵🇸 Thousands of Palestinians detained by Israeli authorities since October 2023 also remain unaccounted for.
• 🇺🇦 Following Russia's invasion, large numbers of Ukrainian civilians, including children, have been detained, some incommunicado, with potential enforced disappearances and transfers to the Russian Federation.
• 🇲🇲 In Myanmar, missing persons have risen since the 2021 military takeover, with concerns over arbitrary detentions and lack of due process.

The Human Cost of Disappearances

• 😭 The abduction and enforced disappearance are described as crimes against humanity that produce ongoing tragedy and long-term trauma for families and communities.
• ⏳ Withholding information about missing loved ones is a form of slow and enduring psychological torture.
• 🕊️ Clarifying the fate of missing persons is essential for transitional justice and sustainable peace.

Challenges and Calls for Action

• 🗣️ The issue of missing persons is sometimes used as a means of political pressure, which is counterproductive to humanitarian cooperation.
• 🤝 Addressing this crisis requires a collective effort, nationally led and internationally supported, with goodwill, perseverance, and respect for international law.
• 🌍 The UN remains committed to assisting all parties, emphasizing the need for full implementation of Security Council resolution 2474.
• 🇰🇷 On the Korean Peninsula, efforts continue for the repatriation of remains from the Korean War.
• 🇨🇾 The work of the committee on missing persons in Cyprus demonstrates how addressing this issue is crucial for community healing and peaceful settlement decades after conflicts.