UN, Libyan gov't organizations address issue of missing persons

By:Xinhua
update:March 19,2018

TRIPOLI, Mar. 19, 2018 -- UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) held an extensive meeting Sunday with a number of Libyan experts and representatives of government institutions, as well as related families, to cope with the issue of missing persons.

The two-day meeting, under the theme "Knowing the Fate of Missing Persons in Libya: A Condition for Meaningful Reconciliation," aimed at exploring best ways to address this file, the mission said.

"The thematic meeting contributed to mapping the main needs and challenges in working on enforced disappearances in Libya, while also recommending legal, technical and social measures in this regard," the mission added.

It also said that the meeting covered the possibility of establishment of an independent national body on the missing persons in Libya.

"The need for relevant institutions to reach out to the families of missing persons was stressed, to encourage them to register their cases," UNSMIL said. "And more technical and financial support from international organizations are requested, most of which left Libya after 2014."

The Ministry for the Care of Families of Martyrs and Missing Persons reported that at least 2,516 people were missing since the 2011 uprising.

The ministry also said there were 110 reported mass graves, in addition to 5,000 martyrs since 2011.

The Libyan UN-backed government recently opened the first DNA laboratory to trace unidentified bodies in mass graves.