Red Cross does not directly deal with identification of bodies, search for the missing, representative says

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) does not directly deal with the identification of bodies and the search for missing persons. ICRC Armenia Communications and Prevention Manager Zara Amatuni informed about this while speaking with reporters.

Amatuni noted that the ICRC was first represented in the region in the 1990s—and in connection with the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“For more than 30 years, we [the ICRC] have been dealing with matters related to the conflict in various directions. The relatives of the missing have the right to know what happened to their loved ones. In this regard, the ICRC works with the competent authorities, assists with its technical and expert capabilities, using also the knowledge acquired in other conflict situations,” said Amatuni.

Relatives should be given the most thorough information about their missing persons. Amatuni noted that the regional delegations of the ICRC have collected data on more than 5,000 persons who have gone missing as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the early 1990s. About 1,000 of them are Armenians, and the information about them was collected by the ICRC Yerevan delegation and the Nagorno-Karabakh mission—this mission, however, has stopped its activities.

“They are the people whom their relatives consider missing,” added Amatuni.

In connection with the fact that a number of relatives refuse to accept the results of the DNA tests carried out by Armenian state bodies, the ICRC representative noted that this organization tries to help clarify the circumstances according to which these relatives do not accept the DNA test results. Amatuni emphasized that the ICRC does not deal with identification.

“It is the work of the respective organizations of the state. The ICRC’s assistance is to share experience; we closely cooperate with the national center of expertise,” Amatuni said, and added that increasing the capacity of Armenian specialists will contribute to reducing the number of missing persons in case of any emergency.

The ICRC supports the families of the missing as well. The second phase of this project was launched in 2022 and will be extended to the families of persons who went missing during the escalation of the conflict in 2020. The meeting of various needs is emphasized—social, sociopsychological—taking into account the peculiarity of the condition of those people who live between hope and despair. It is also necessary to remember that in most cases it is about the absence of a breadwinner, stressed Zara Amatuni, and noted the importance of contact with the families of the missing.

“The ICRC itself is not engaged in the search for missing persons, acting as a neutral intermediary. Informing is also the duty of the state,” the ICRC representative said.