Red Cross head seeks governments’ action on missing persons
worldwide, the President of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter
Maurer,
has urged concerted actions to address the issue.
Speaking on the 2016 International Day of the
Disappeared, which was held on Tuesday, Maurer
asked governments to urgently address the
humanitarian issue of missing persons, especially
those who disappeared during armed conflicts or
other situations of violence, natural disasters or
migration.
According to him, concerted efforts are needed to
establish and document the number of people who
are missing and provide their families with the
needed support and counselling.
“This is a tragedy affecting millions, but it remains
vastly unacknowledged and under-reported. Such
indifference is extremely disturbing.
“Disappearances are often a sensitive social and
political issue, but that is no excuse for inaction.
Governments must generate the political will
necessary to provide answers.
“Steps must be taken to prevent disappearances and
to collect all the information available when people
do disappear. Because at some point, this
information might help bring answers to families
and other loved ones,” Maurer said.
According to the ICRC, those in this category include
combatants missing in action, children who became
separated from their families when they fled their
homes or were forced to join armed groups,
detainees unable to contact their families and
internally displaced people and migrants who have
lost touch with their loved ones.
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