the International Committee of the Red Cross investigates the fate of at least 23,000 missing people

This is probably just the tip of the iceberg, as the institution has received more than 115,000 tracing requests from families.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) seeks to “shedding light on the fate of 23,000 people who have disappeared” during the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, announces a press release published Monday February 19. “Opened in March 2022, the office of the ICRC central tracing agency for the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine” is dedicated to the search for missing people from both sides in this conflict, “whether they were captured, killed or separated from their loved ones” following the fighting, the ICRC said in a statement.

“The figure of 23,000 represents the number of people – children or adults – for whom members of their families have opened a requesttells franceinfo Achille Desprès, spokesperson for the ICRC in Ukraine. So this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.” Over the past two years, the institution has received more than 115,000 tracing requests from families in Ukraine and Russia, the ICRC said.

And hasu January 31, 2024, the ICRC – with the help of several National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies – had helped 8,000 families from Ukraine and Russia “to obtain information on the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones”according to the press release.

The two countries have established an office responsible for collecting this information

The ACR office for the Russia-Ukraine conflict is the first ICRC office set up specifically for an international conflict in more than 30 years. This mission is the most important since the Second World War. In accordance with the Geneva Conventions, the two countries have each established a national information bureau (BNR) responsible for collecting, centralizing and transmitting information relating to protected persons (such as prisoners of war and civilian internees) who are between their hands, explained the ICRC.

Acting as a neutral intermediary between Russia and Ukraine, the ACR office collects, centralizes and records this information, then transmits it to the relevant camp, the institution added. The parties to an international conflict are “required to treat those under their control with humanity and to ensure that the dead are cared for in a dignified manner”underlined the ICRC.