Missing persons plan finalised

THE COMMITTEE on Missing Persons (CMP) yesterday announced that it had finalised its project proposal for the Exhumation, Identification and Return of Remains of Missing Persons in Cyprus.

A statement issued by the CMP said that the committee’s newly appointed Third Member, Christophe Girod, was expected in Cyprus soon and that his arrival would enable the Committee to simultaneously pursue the necessary investigations for determining the fate of the missing persons.

In the statement, the CMP that over the past few weeks, intensive work was carried out by the committee, involving numerous meetings, with various institutions and organisations, and in consultation with scientific experts.

”Capacity and needs assessments were undertaken as part of the preparation process, as well as training exercises involving exhumation work which was carried out by a specialised bi-communal team,” the statement said.

The exhumation of the remains of ten individuals took place in the Mesaoria area and in the south-east of Nicosia, the CMP said. These remains will be transferred to the CMP’s anthropological laboratory in the United Nations Protected Area once the project is launched.

Construction of the laboratory is now being finalised. “The Turkish Cypriot laboratory is functional and is working on the collection of blood samples of the Turkish Cypriot relatives of missing persons for DNA extraction,” the CMP said.

It added that it was also seeking major financial contributions necessary not only for equipping the anthropological laboratory but also for launching the overall project.

“The newly appointed third member of the CMP, Mr. Christophe Girod, is expected in Cyprus in the near future. His arrival will enable the Committee to simultaneously pursue the necessary investigations for determining the fate of the missing persons, as stipulated in its Terms of Reference.”