Missing Persons

A/RES/79/173View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

13 versions · 2003–2024

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2024	A/RES/79/173	Missing persons	2,620	88%Compare
2023	A/RES/77/220	Missing persons	2,348	83%Compare
2020	A/RES/75/184	Missing persons	1,966	99%Compare
2019	A/RES/73/178	Missing persons	1,968	84%Compare
2017	A/RES/71/201	Missing persons	1,697	86%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

10 reports · 2006–2024

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2024	A/79/282	Missing persons report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/220
2022	A/77/245	Missing persons report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/75/184
2020	A/75/306	Missing persons report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/73/178
2018	A/73/385	Missing persons report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/71/201
2016	A/71/299	Missing persons report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/69/184

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Disappearance of Persons Human Rights in Armed Conflicts

What’s in this document?

25 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 1949 and, where applicable, in the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977;

Calls upon States parties to an armed conflict to take all appropriate measures to prevent persons from going missing in connection with 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, in order 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, access to justice and adequate reparations;

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 international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including through the facilitation of the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed conflict, and to allow for the exchange of family news, consistent with their international obligations;

Urges States to avoid harm to civilians as an important factor in preventing persons from going missing in connection with armed conflict, including in minimizing the military use of civilian infrastructure, in accordance with applicable international law;

Reaffirms the right of families to know the fate of their relatives reported missing in connection with armed conflict and the importance of ensuring their participation in relevant processes related to actions taken in response to cases of missing persons;

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 persons who have been reported missing by an adverse party and ensure that all relevant information on those who died as a result of armed conflict is recorded;

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, without any adverse distinction, 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, consistent with applicable international and national law, 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;

Expresses concern at the impediments caused by landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices, in certain instances, to efforts on identifying the whereabouts of missing persons, and calls upon States concerned to cooperate to facilitate the safe search for human remains and retrieval operations;

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;

Expresses its support for the efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross in seeking access to information on persons reported missing, and calls upon all parties to armed conflict to comply with their commitments in respect of such access and to cooperate with the International Committee of the Red Cross and its Central Tracing Agency in addressing the issue of missing persons, consistent with applicable obligations under international humanitarian law, 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 without any adverse distinction 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 individual needs and accompaniment of their family members, with particular attention to the needs of women, youth, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, 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 exchange best practices and technical recommendations and to promote cooperation, as appropriate, including between relevant human rights mechanisms and procedures related to missing persons, pertaining, inter alia, to the search for and clarification of the fate and whereabouts of missing persons, the use and development of digital tools, forensic analysis and identification and addressing the needs of families;

Further 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, including the participation of the families of missing persons in relevant processes;

Welcomes the progress made in clarifying the fate of missing persons in connection with armed conflict;

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 continue to seek further the views of Member States and relevant agencies and to submit to the Human Rights Council at its relevant session and to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session a comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution, including relevant practical recommendations;

Reiterates its invitation to the President of the General Assembly to convene an informal biennial meeting of the General Assembly, and requests the Secretary-General to brief the Assembly during such meetings on the comprehensive report on the implementation of the present resolution, to be followed by a dialogue;

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 eighty-first session.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?