UN Security Council Adopts First Resolution on Persons Reported Missing During Armed Conflict (June 11, 2019) [1]
On June 11, 2019, the UN Security Council adopted its first resolution [3] to deal specifically with persons reported missing during armed conflict. The Council condemned “the deliberate targeting of civilians or other protected persons in situations of armed conflict, and call[ed] upon all parties to armed conflict to put an end to such practices.” The Council asked such parties “to take all appropriate measures, to actively search for persons reported missing, to enable the return of their remains, and to account for persons reported missing without adverse distinction and to put in place appropriate channels enabling response and communication with families on the search process.” The Council also called upon parties to armed conflict to take steps to prevent persons from going missing and to take necessary actions “in order to ensure thorough, prompt, impartial and effective investigations and the prosecution of offences linked to missing persons as a result of armed conflict.” The Council urged parties to armed conflict to collect and properly manage data on missing persons, search for and identify the dead due to armed conflict in a respectful manner, and establish national information bureaus during times of conflict to exchange information on detainees and civilians belonging to an opposing party.