Missing Persons

A/HRC/RES/7/28No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, published in 2008.

What other versions does this mandate have?

13 versions · 2003–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/173

2024A/RES/79/173Missing personsLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/220Missing personsCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/75/184Missing personsCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/178Missing personsCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/201Missing personsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

16 topics

Children in Armed Conflicts Commissions of Inquiry Conferences Data Collection Disappearance of Persons Family Human Rights in Armed Conflicts Human Rights Institutions Intergovernmental Organizations International Humanitarian Law Legal Status Non-Governmental Organizations Report Preparation Right to the Truth Women in Armed Conflicts Working Groups

What does this mandate say?

15 operative paragraphs

Urges States to strictly observe and respect and to ensure respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and, where applicable, in the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977;

Calls upon States that are parties to an armed conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict and account for persons reported missing as a result of such a situation;

Reaffirms the right of families to know the fate of their relatives reported missing in connection with armed conflicts;

Also reaffirms that each party to an armed conflict, as soon as circumstances permit and, at the latest, from the end of active hostilities, shall search for the persons who have been reported missing by an adverse party;

Calls upon States that are parties to an armed conflict to take all necessary measures, in a timely manner, to determine the identity and fate of persons reported missing in connection with the armed conflict and, to the greatest possible extent, to provide their family members, through appropriate channels, with all relevant information they have on their fate;

Recognizes, in this regard, the need for the collection, protection and management of credible and reliable data on missing persons according to international and national legal norms and standards, and urges States to cooperate with each other and with other concerned actors working in this area, inter alia, by providing all relevant and appropriate information related to missing persons;

Requests States to pay the utmost attention to cases of children and women reported missing in connection with armed conflicts and to take appropriate measures to search for and identify those children and women;

Invites States that are parties to an armed conflict to cooperate fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross in establishing the fate of missing persons and to adopt a comprehensive approach to this issue, including all practical and coordination mechanisms as may be necessary, based on humanitarian considerations only;

Urges States and encourages intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to take all necessary measures at the national, regional and international levels to address the problem of persons reported missing in connection with armed conflicts and to provide appropriate assistance as requested by the concerned States, and welcomes, in this regard, the establishment and efforts of commissions and working groups on missing persons;

Calls upon States, without prejudice to their efforts to determine the fate of persons missing in connection with armed conflicts, to take appropriate steps with regard to the legal situation of the missing persons and that of their family members, in fields such as social welfare, financial matters, family law and property rights;

Decides to hold a panel discussion on the question of missing persons at its ninth session and to invite experts of the International Committee of the Red Cross, delegates of Governments and non-governmental organizations as well as national human rights institutions and international organizations to participate therein and requests the High Commissioner to prepare a summary of the panel’s deliberations with a view to subsequently charging the Advisory Committee, at the same session, with the preparation of a study on best practices in the matter;

Invites relevant human rights mechanisms and procedures, as appropriate, to address the problem of persons reported missing in connection with armed conflicts in their forthcoming reports to the Council;

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and international humanitarian organizations;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council before its tenth session;

Decides to consider the question at its tenth session.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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