The Minister of Defense in the Council of Ministers, Sifet Podzic, signed a memorandum of understanding with the delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) regarding the conditions of access to war archives related to missing persons in the last war.
The memorandum refers to the cooperation and conditions of access to the archive depots of the former entity armies in connection with the archive on persons who are listed as missing, the Ministries of Defense in the Council of Ministers stated.
By signing this document, BiH is the first country in the region to present its archives created in the period from 1992 to 1995 to the ICRC.
The signatories have agreed to cooperate and assist each other in accordance with their mandates, competencies and the provisions of this memorandum.
The ICRC delegation was led by Elmir Camic, head of the delegation in Sarajevo.
”About 7.600 missing persons are still being searched for in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), ” said Nikola Perisic, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Missing Persons Institute of BiH.
According to him, the biggest challenge and issue is the lack of relevant information based on which persons who are listed as missing could be found.
“Out of the 12.000 missing persons in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, two-thirds are from BiH. When it comes to the process of searching for missing persons, these 7.600 are the most serious cases, since these are mostly war crimes. The perpetrators made a good effort to hide their traces, ” Perisic pointed out.
Also, Perisic stressed that they are not satisfied with the process of searching for missing persons in our country.
He stated that alternative methods of searching for missing persons are already being implemented, including modern technologies.
“We have a plan to hire younger, more educated people when it comes to new techniques. Currently, we have a large number of misidentified people, there is a large reserve of mortal remains from which DNA profiles were isolated, and there is no match with biological samples given by families,” Perisic told.
He emphasized that until there is a comprehensive application of the law on missing persons on the collection and exchange of information, the process of searching for missing persons will not be finished in the foreseeable future.
Participants in the Round Table “Achievements and Priorities in the Process of Search for Missing Persons in BiH”, which is held in Sarajevo, appealed to all those who have any information regarding missing persons in BiH during the past war since 1992. to 1995, to deliver them, if not publicly, then anonymously.
It was noted that families have the right to know the truth and what is happening in the process of searching for missing persons, BHRT writes.
