The nineteenth meeting of the coordination mechanism to clarify the fate and whereabouts of people missing in connection with the armed conflicts of the 1990s and August 2008 and after was held on Thursday in the village of Ergnet, the press service of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Republic reports.
“In addition to sharing an update on progress made since the previous coordination mechanism meeting in May 2023, the discussion highlighted the need to seek information to determine what happened to missing persons, including possible burial sites and difficulties existing in the process,” the statement the he press service reads.
According to the chairperson of the mechanism, Agnès Cotu, the ICRC representative for missing persons in the Caucasus, the dialogue within the coordination mechanism is determined solely by humanitarian objectives.
"The participants share the opinion about the importance of moving forward in the search for 118 missing persons. For all parties, continued engagement and increased participation in the search, identification of remains and support to the families of the missing are key aspects. This cooperation is necessary in order for the process to be effective and sustainable," Agnes Cotu said.
The ICRC has noted that, in accordance with international humanitarian law, families of missing people have the right to know what happened to their loved ones.
“Reliable information about missing people, including possible burial places, is necessary to clarify their fate. Any information received by the ICRC is considered confidential and is used only for humanitarian purposes,” the press service said.
The coordination mechanism, bringing together South Ossetian, Georgian and Russian participants, was created under the auspices and with technical support of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in 2010, as a purely humanitarian platform.
