The International Committee of the Red Cross has reported that there are 23,000 missing individuals who have lost contact with their families either due to being captured, killed, or losing touch after fleeing their homes, as a result of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Dusan Vujasanin, head of the Central Tracing Agency’s office for the international armed conflict between the Russian Federation and Ukraine, presented a report in Geneva on Monday, highlighting the tragic reality faced by tens of thousands of families living in continuous distress. He affirmed that families have the right to know the fate of their relatives and, where possible, to exchange news with them.
By the end of January 2024, the committee had assisted approximately 8,000 families in obtaining information about the fate or whereabouts of their missing loved ones, in collaboration with the national associations of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Ukraine, Russia, and other locations. Over the past two years, it received more than 115,000 phone calls, online requests, letters, or personal visits from families in Russia and Ukraine searching for their missing relatives.
Vujasanin added that the International Committee has helped thousands of individuals who were separated from their relatives to communicate with them or find out information about their fate, but many are still seeking any news of their loved ones.
It’s worth noting that the Central Tracing Agency’s office was established in March 2022 and works with conflict parties to prevent disappearances and support families searching for their relatives on both sides of the frontline. The authorities in Russia and Ukraine have set up national information offices in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, responsible for centrally collecting, managing, and transmitting information about protected individuals such as prisoners of war or detained civilians under their control.
The committee, serving as a neutral intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, stated that the Central Agency’s office centrally collects, manages, protects, and transfers this information from one side to the other. The Geneva Conventions mandate that the parties inform the International Committee about all protected individuals in their custody, significantly reducing the likelihood of their disappearance.
