Missing Persons

A/RES/71/201No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 68bHuman rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2017.

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?

5 topics

Accountability Children in Armed Conflicts Disappearance of Persons Family Rights Human Rights in Armed Conflicts

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2018.

2018A/73/385Missing persons report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

20 operative paragraphs

Urges States to strictly observe and to respect and ensure respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 19491 and, where applicable, in the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977;2

Calls upon States that are parties to an armed conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with the armed conflict, to account for persons reported missing as a result of such a situation and, in cases of missing persons, to take such measures, as appropriate, as to ensure thorough, prompt, impartial and effective investigations and the prosecution of offences linked to missing persons, consistent with their obligations under international law, with a view to full accountability;

Calls upon States to take measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict, including by fully implementing their obligations and commitments under relevant international law;

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

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 extent possible, to provide their family members, through appropriate channels, with all relevant information that they have on their fate, including their whereabouts or, if they are dead, the circumstances and cause of their death;

Recognizes the need for appropriate means of identification and for the collection, protection and management of data on missing persons and unidentified remains according to international and national legal norms and standards, and urges all concerned States to cooperate with each other and with other concerned actors working in this area by, inter alia, providing all relevant information related to missing persons, including on their fate and whereabouts;

Requests States to pay the utmost attention to cases of children reported missing in connection with armed conflict and to take appropriate measures to search for and identify those children and to reunite them with their families;

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 such legal and practical measures and coordination mechanisms as may be necessary, based on humanitarian considerations only;

Urges States that are parties to an armed conflict to cooperate, consistent with their international obligations, in order to effectively solve cases of missing persons, including by providing mutual assistance in terms of information-sharing, victim assistance, location and identification of missing persons and recovery, identification and return of human remains and, if possible, by identifying, mapping and preserving burial sites;

Invites States to encourage interaction between competent organizations and institutions, such as national commissions on missing persons, which play a crucial role in clarifying the fate of persons missing in connection with armed conflict and providing support to the families of the missing;

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 conflict 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 reported missing in connection with armed conflict, to take appropriate steps with regard to the legal situation of missing persons and the needs and accompaniment of their family members, with particular attention to the needs of women and children, in such fields as social welfare, psychological and psychosocial support, financial matters, family law and property rights;

Invites States, national institutions and, as appropriate, intergovernmental, international and non-governmental organizations to further their engagement in order to follow forensic best practices as they apply to preventing and resolving cases of missing persons in connection with armed conflict;

Also invites States, national institutions and, as appropriate, intergovernmental, international and non-governmental organizations to ensure the development and proper management of archives pertaining to missing persons and unidentified remains in connection with armed conflict, as well as access to those archives in accordance with relevant applicable laws and regulations;

Stresses the need to address the issue of missing persons as a part of peace and peacebuilding processes, with reference to all justice and rule of law mechanisms, including the judiciary, parliamentary commissions and truth-finding mechanisms, on the basis of transparency, accountability and public involvement and participation;

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

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Human Rights Council at its relevant session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution, including relevant recommendations;

Also 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;

Decides to consider the question at its seventy-third session.

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Who created this mandate?

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What subjects does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What does this mandate say?

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