Searching for missing persons
Tens of thousands of people disappear every year due to armed conflicts, violent situations, natural disasters and crises, as well as on migration routes. Switzerland wants to strengthen prevention so that people do not disappear in the first place, and is committed to improving the search for missing persons and reuniting families.
The fact that countless people disappear every year is not just a humanitarian tragedy for their families. When people disappear as a result of armed conflicts, disasters or migration movements, this can also exacerbate social grievances, shake confidence and make reconstruction after crises and conflicts more difficult.
There are many reasons why people disappear: some lose contact with their relatives when fleeing armed conflicts, while others are arbitrarily arrested or are imprisoned without contact with the outside world. Still others are never found because they are left behind on the battlefield or buried without documentation or identification.
The disappearance of people is a worldwide phenomenon with devastating, long-term effects on families and entire societies. When a loved one disappears, the uncertainty about their fate can lead to severe psychological trauma for their relatives. In many countries, the relatives of missing persons are also faced with considerable legal, financial and administrative hurdles.
The issue also has a significant impact on peace processes. The disappearance of people often hinders reconciliation efforts for decades. In order to come to terms with the past and take a step towards lasting peace, a society must know the fate of its missing members.
Until recently, this hidden tragedy did not receive enough attention from the international community. As part of its commitment to strengthening international humanitarian law and human rights, Switzerland is committed to raising awareness of the issue and implementing concrete measures to reduce the number of disappearances worldwide. Should cases of missing persons nevertheless occur, measures should be initiated to clarify their whereabouts and inform their families.
Switzerland is active both at the multilateral level and in various geographical contexts in the search for and identification of missing persons. Priority countries and regions include Ukraine, the Caucasus, Colombia, Sri Lanka and the Middle East. Switzerland also supports the ICRC's Central Tracing Agency, an important pillar of its humanitarian tradition, and founded the Global Alliance for the Missing in 2021.
Global Alliance for the Missing
Political will and close cooperation both between states and with non-state actors are crucial to preventing or responding appropriately to cases of missing persons. Equally important is an effective legal and institutional framework, as well as the strengthening of technical resources and the exchange of knowledge between those dealing with the issue of missing persons.
To this end, Switzerland and the ICRC launched the Global Alliance for the Missing (GAM) in 2021. The GAM, which consists of 13 countries worldwide, aims to utilise its collective diplomatic, political and financial capabilities to strengthen prevention while improving responses to cases of missing persons. As co-chair, Switzerland is committed to ensuring that the issue remains visible at both the multilateral and regional levels, and that the needs of family members are taken into account.
Network of national focal points for missing migrants
In search of a better future, people are embarking on increasingly dangerous migration routes. The number of missing or dead migrants is rising. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 70,000 people died or disappeared on migration routes worldwide between 2014 and 2024. Almost half of them disappeared on the central Mediterranean route. However, the actual figures are likely to be higher, as there is a considerable number of unreported cases.
Together with The Gambia, Switzerland has put the humanitarian tragedy of missing migrants on the agenda of the Raba Process – the European–African dialogue on migration and development, which brings together around 60 countries of origin, transit and destination along the migration routes linking Central, West and North Africa with Europe. Together with the ICRC and The Gambia, in 2024 Switzerland launched a network of national focal points for missing migrants with the aim of facilitating the cross-border search for and identification of missing migrants.
Into the light of certainty
Under a mandate from the PHRD, a group of specialists from the ESC travelled to Serbia and Kosovo in October to examine the use of new technologies in the search for missing persons.
Finding and identifying missing persons is essential to rebuilding countries
Ukraine, Kosovo and the Middle East are among Switzerland's priority countries and regions for its support in the field of missing persons.
«One of the biggest challenges Ukraine faces in relation to missing persons is the large number of cases that need to be investigated.»
Interview with two members of the Peace and Human Rights Division on the search for and identification of missing persons in Ukraine.
Finding missing people and bringing them home strengthens society and builds peace
Development of the tracing work of the Red Cross, the work's 150th anniversary and Switzerland's continued support.
Contact
State Secretariat STS-FDFA
Peace and Human Rights Division
Effingerstrasse 27
3003 Bern