ICMP: Institute of Forensic Medicine needs to be urgently established in Federation of BiH

It will soon be twenty years since the end of the war, and advocating for the rule of law is key to supporting efforts to find missing persons in BiH, agreed participants of the Round Table today in Tuzla.

The Round Table, organized by the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), brought together representatives of family associations, authorities, and academic and legal experts to discuss ways to increase the effectiveness of efforts to find missing persons.

Participants noted that the prosecution of war crimes, as well as the search for their victims, is not something that is important only for the families of the missing: it affects everyone because if criminals move freely, citizens cannot rely on legal protection, which in practical terms means that if criminals are free, they will not be obliged to provide any information they may have regarding the fate of those who are still missing.

During the Round Table, a discussion was held on the results presented in the BiH State of the Union Report, which ICMP published last December, describing twenty years of efforts to find the missing, and examining specific problems in Lower Podrinje, Upper Podrinje, Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Posavina, Central Bosnia, Northeast Bosnia, and West Bosnia.

The State of the Union Report includes recommendations such as Bosnia and Herzegovina must remain active in the process of finding the remaining 8,000 persons missing in the conflict by strengthening its institutions, including the Missing Persons Institute and the BiH Prosecutor's Office, and ensuring their involvement in resolving the issue of missing persons.

The recommendations also state that BiH must fully implement the Law on Missing Persons, which provides for the establishment of a Central Registry of Missing Persons (CEN) and a Fund for Support to Families of Missing Persons.

BiH should explore new possibilities for finding graves, including the use of aerial and satellite imagery, ongoing systematic reviews of morgues in BiH should continue as a priority, and finally, associations of families of missing persons should continue to lobby for their right to truth and justice.

It is particularly important that they continue to hold an annual regional conference to advocate for their rights and ensure sustainable progress in the future.

ICMP states that BiH must strengthen its domestic capacities in forensic expertise; among other things, an Institute of Forensic Medicine should be established in the FBIH, and the capacities of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the RS should be strengthened. ICMP further states that obstructions in concluding bilateral agreements between Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the region must be stopped, as well as the establishment of a regional list of missing persons to eliminate duplication of records, and obstacles in jurisdiction must be removed when progress is to be made on this issue.

The next such meetings will be held in Mostar on March 17, in Sarajevo on March 19, and in Banja Luka on March 26, ICMP announced.