Baku:The Director General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), Kathryne Bomberger, emphasized the need for systemic changes to address cases involving hundreds of thousands of missing persons. Her remarks were made at the 4th International Conference as part of the Baku Dialogue on Missing Persons.
According to Azeri-Press news agency, Bomberger highlighted the importance of shifting from conflict parties to state responsibility, as seen in the difference between the Dayton Peace Agreement and Article 9 of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Agreement. This transition aligns with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which mandates state investigations into cases of missing persons.
Bomberger pointed out the significant number of missing persons in various countries, citing 114,000 in Ukraine, 300,000 in Syria, over 100,000 in Mexico, including missing migrants, and more than 100,000 in Colombia. The situation in Africa and Vietnam also involves high numbers of missing individuals, though precise figures are lacking.
She stressed that addressing such large-scale issues requires a complete overhaul of current systems, which are typically used to handling smaller cases. This includes the extensive collection of information from families about their missing relatives, the circumstances, and timing of their disappearances.