The objective is to explore robust mechanisms for ensuring accountability and justice through large-scale missing persons investigations in Ukraine.
The conference will highlight and illuminate the significant challenges that Ukraine currently faces in accounting for the missing, and explore how international legal frameworks and institutions can support current efforts. It will also focus on integrating forensic science and database technologies in judicial investigations, ensuring accurate identifications and preserving evidence for future war crimes trials.
More than 70,000 people have been reported to the central register established by Ukraine to record those who have gone missing as a result of the Russian invasion. This huge number of cases points to the urgent need for systemic forensic led interventions.
During my tenure as a Judge and subsequently as Vice-President of the International Criminal Court, I was deeply involved in establishing and implementing mechanisms for international accountability. Based on that experience, I can confidently assert that Ukraine has laid the groundwork for a system capable of locating and identifying large numbers of missing persons, and for supporting judicial proceedings for victims in the long term. The basic legislative and institutional framework has been created that can sustain a long-term and law-based process.
The fact that this system is being developed while Ukraine remains at war is not merely admirable—it is essential in defending the country’s sovereignty and democracy. Accounting for the missing and bringing those responsible for disappearances to justice are two interlinked facets of justice.
In Ukraine today, ICMP is providing state-of-the-art equipment, and training in forensic science and mortuary management, and it is giving support to families of the missing and to civil society organizations, at the express request of Ukrainian authorities and partner organizations. In 2024, ICMP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Main Bureau of Forensic Medicine under the Ministry of Health. This established a framework for the provision of forensic assistance, the implementation of the Integrated Data Management System (iDMS), and the creation of a National Identification Center. The foundations are now in place to roll out the iDMS across the network of forensic bureaus in Ukraine. ICMP is working closely with the Office of the Commissioner for Missing Persons and the Ombudsman’s Office, enhancing access to forensic tools and establishing data-sharing mechanisms, while bolstering capacities for data collection and processing.
ICMP deeply values the confidence placed in it by the Ukrainian authorities and welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the further development of strong legal and institutional frameworks to support the authorities’ efforts.
Having assisted more than 40 countries in the past 25 years, ICMP has extensive experience in devising and implementing effective missing-persons strategies. Ukraine can benefit by drawing on that experience. The next phase is likely to involve a comprehensive campaign to collect data, including genetic data from families of the missing.
Data collection is already underway among military personnel, providing a scalable model. However, efficient data management, characterized by systematic collection and secure sharing, will be essential.
While much has already been achieved, the work ahead is more critical than ever.
I am confident that this week’s conference will yield constructive pathways for substantive progress, ensuring that those missing as a result of the war are located and identified, and that this effort is grounded in the rule of law, with perpetrators held accountable.
This undertaking will contribute to bolstering Ukraine’s defence of its sovereignty and democracy, enhancing international rule-of-law efforts, and offering long-sought justice and closure to tens of thousands of affected families.
There are concrete, practical methods to expand international assistance to Ukraine. ICMP and other partner organizations stand ready to assist, at the invitation of the authorities. This week's conference is a timely opportunity to discuss the next steps toward securing accountability and justice, through a concerted partnership between international and domestic actors.