20/03/2025
📍 Cyprus
STRENGTHENING BOUGAINVILLE’S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS MISSING PERSONS: LEARNING FROM THE COMMITTEE ON MISSING PERSONS IN CYPRUS
From 27 January to 21 February 2025, the Office of Missing Persons in Bougainville (OMPB) embarked on a transformative study tour and training at the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP). Facilitated by the ICRC, this initiative underscores the power of international collaboration in addressing the fate of missing persons.
📍 Cyprus
STRENGTHENING BOUGAINVILLE’S EFFORTS TO ADDRESS MISSING PERSONS: LEARNING FROM THE COMMITTEE ON MISSING PERSONS IN CYPRUS
From 27 January to 21 February 2025, the Office of Missing Persons in Bougainville (OMPB) embarked on a transformative study tour and training at the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP). Facilitated by the ICRC, this initiative underscores the power of international collaboration in addressing the fate of missing persons.
The CMP, a globally recognized humanitarian mechanism, has been at the forefront of investigating the fate and whereabouts of missing persons for decades. By sharing its expertise, it provides valuable insights for contexts like Bougainville. This exchange aligns with the long-term strategy of the Bougainville Executive Council to uncover the fate and whereabouts of those who disappeared during the Bougainville Conflict (1988–1998) – a tragic period that left an undocumented number of missing persons.
Throughout the study tour, the Search Coordinator of the OMPB gained a comprehensive understanding of the CMP’s mission, operational strategies, and challenges since its establishment in 1981. As the OMPB takes its first steps, learning from Cyprus’ extensive experience in investigations, data management, human remains recovery, analysis and identification, and family support is crucial in shaping its approach.
"We are deeply grateful to the ICRC for making this opportunity possible and to the CMP for sharing their wealth of knowledge. Their expertise in handling large caseloads of missing persons is inspiring, and we hope to build a mechanism in Bougainville that reaches the same level. Most importantly, we want to the families to know that we are deeply committed to search and for their loved ones and if dead repatriate them for a dignified burial,” said Liza Kabui, OMPB’s Search Coordinator, on behalf of the Bougainville Autonomous Government.
