Addressing the issue of missing persons amid armed conflicts requires systematic training of specialists and effective cooperation between state bodies and humanitarian organizations, Secretary-General of the International Institute of Humanitarian Law (IIHL) Gian Luca Beruto said at an international conference on missing persons as part of the Baku Dialogue, Report informs.
According to him, relevant specialists should be able to accurately register detainees, preserve information about the dead, facilitate contacts with families and cooperate with competent authorities and humanitarian organizations.
"When a person goes missing in an armed conflict, the humanitarian consequences do not end with the disappearance itself. For families, uncertainty can become a permanent problem," Beruto stressed.
The Secretary-General noted that effectively addressing the issue cannot depend on a single institution or individual measure. Legal and institutional mechanisms are needed to collect and preserve information, search for missing persons and identify remains.
He also stressed the need for cooperation among states, humanitarian organizations and other relevant bodies both in preventing disappearances and in searching for missing persons.
"Behind every missing person is a story, a family and a community living with uncertainty. International humanitarian law cannot eliminate all the suffering caused by war, but it can establish clear frameworks for protecting those affected and ensuring accountability," Beruto stressed.