Declaration On The Role Of The State In Addressing The Issue Of Persons Missing As A Consequence Of Armed Conflict And Human Rights Abuses

The original Signatories (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia) sponsor this Declaration in mutual recognition of the achievements they have made in locating the missing from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and, as importantly, to further advance the principles that have formed the basis of these accomplishments.

The Declaration seeks to highlight the most important of these principles, namely, the primary responsibility of National/Local Authorities in addressing the issue of the missing and the need to ensure that mechanisms and methods employed conform to human rights standards and rule of law principles. In addition, the Declaration seeks to ensure that the rights of family members of the missing are upheld at all times, and that survivors and civil society alike may have access to information regarding the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, as well as the circumstances of their disappearance.

To carry these principles forward and to contribute to their dissemination, the present Declaration is an open instrument and the original Signatories invite and encourage others to join them. This Declaration is not intended to abrogate or serve in place of existing international instruments on the issue of disappeared or missing persons, but seeks to complement and add to the provisions of such instruments.

See also the Explanatory Note in this document: https://www.icmp.int/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/final-explanatory-note…