Iraq/Kuwait: stepping up efforts to account for missing persons

Publisher International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Publication Date 17 November 2011

Cite as International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Iraq/Kuwait: stepping up efforts to account for missing persons, 17 November 2011, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec6029b2.html [accessed 17 December 2013]

Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

The 34th session of the Tripartite Commission, composed of representatives of Iraq, Kuwait and the 1990-1991 Coalition (the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Saudi Arabia), has just been held in Geneva under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"More than 20 years after the end of the conflict, hundreds of families are still waiting for news of their loved ones," said Dika Dulic, the ICRC in charge of issues relating to missing persons in Iraq. "It is vital that the authorities concerned fulfil their obligation to provide information for the families. The ICRC continues to support them in their efforts to do so."

At the meeting in Geneva, Iraq, Kuwait and the other members of the Tripartite Commission decided to further strengthen the process of gathering information on the possible location of burial sites. They agreed on the need to establish a concrete plan of action concerning future excavations in both Iraq and Kuwait.

In June, the remains of 32 Iraqi soldiers were exhumed in a joint mission undertaken on Kuwaiti soil. The remains were handed over to the Iraqi government, which is now seeking to establish the soldiers' identities. Similar missions have also taken place in recent months on Iraqi soil. On one of these missions, an area of nearly 110,000 square metres in Thi Qar province was excavated over five weeks, but no mortal remains were found.

"Even though my son is dead, I know – at last – that he is resting in peace," said 62-year-old Ferdous, who finally managed to bury her son in Basra. "I waited for years not knowing where he was or how he was doing, but at least now I can visit him in his grave."

The Tripartite Commission and its Technical Sub-Committee were set up in 1991 and 1994 respectively. So far, this mechanism has helped determine what happened to more than 300 people who went missing in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War, including 217 Kuwaitis, 94 Iraqis, 11 Saudis and people of other nationalities.


http://www.refworld.org/docid/4ec6029b2.html

Iraq announces discovering 236 corpses for Kuwaiti missing citizens in Iraq


// By Ahmed Hussein on December 2, 2013









Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraq announced discovering 236 corpses for Kuwaiti missing citizens who were buried in the Iraqi territories after the Iraqi invasion for Kuwait in 1990.

A statement by the Ministry of Human Rights received by IraqiNews.com quoted the Minister Mohamed Shiya al-Sudani as saying “According to the Memorandums of Understanding concluded between Iraq and Kuwait in 1991, a committee was formed to search for the missing Iraqi and Kuwaiti citizens,” noting that “Kuwait presented a list of 609 missing Kuwaiti persons and Iraq presented a list of 5864 missing Iraqis.”

“Work continues to identify the fate of the missing Iraqi and Kuwaiti citizens since the search operations resulted in discovering 236 corpses that belong to Kuwaiti citizens buried inside the Iraqi territories,” he added.

“The Iraqi Ministry depended on maps and statistics provided by Kuwait, Britain and the United States of America for burial sites inside the Iraqi lands,” he concluded.





http://www.iraqinews.../#axzz2mMlElHAM