On Monday 19 February, the International Committee of the Red Cross announced it was seeking to “shed light on the fate of 23,000 people missing” during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The ICRC statement said: quotes CNN Greece:
“The ICRC’s Central Investigation Service for the International Armed Conflict between Russia and Ukraine, opened in March 2022, is dedicated to investigating missing persons from both sides of the conflict “who were captured, killed or separated from their people” after the fighting.”
Dusan Vuyasanin, head of the organization, emphasizes:
“The lack of news about a relative is real torture, constant agony. Thousands of families face this tragic reality. They have the right to know what happened to their relatives and, if possible, to exchange messages with them.”
IN statement The International Committee of the Red Cross notes:
“Over the past two years, the ICRC has received more than 115,000 requests for investigations from Ukrainian and Russian families by telephone, through its online platforms, by mail or during personal meetings. 31 January 2024 The International Committee of the Red Cross, with the assistance of many National Red Cross Societies The Cross and Red Crescent – in Ukraine, Russia and other countries – helped 8,000 families obtain information about the fate of their relatives or dead, the place where they were.”
ACR has “allowed thousands of people to reconnect with a loved one they lost or get information about what happened to them,” says Vuyasanin. “However, many others are still waiting and in uncertainty.”
The ACR office for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is the first in 30 years created by the ICRC specifically to resolve an international conflict. This mission is the most important since World War II. In accordance with the Geneva Treaties, both countries created the National Intelligence Bureau, which is tasked with collecting, collating and disseminating information on protected persons (prisoners of war and prisoners), the ICRC explained.
Acting as a neutral intermediary between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, ACR collects, summarizes and records this information, and then transmits it to the appropriate camp, the ICRC added. Parties to an international conflict have an obligation to “treat people under their control humanely and ensure that the deceased are treated with dignity,” the ICRC stressed.
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