This was made possible under the humanitarian mandate of the Coordination Mechanism on Persons Unaccounted For in Connection with the Events of the 1992–1993 Armed Conflict and After, which has operated with the ICRC’s support since 2010 and involves Abkhaz and Georgian participants.
A meeting was held at the Levan Samkharauli National Forensics Bureau (NFB) on 12 March, where the families had the opportunity to receive information about the process of the search, recovery of remains and identification of their loved ones. The meeting was attended by representatives from the Office of the State Minister of Georgia for Reconciliation and Civic Equality, the NFB and the ICRC.
A public farewell ceremony will take place on 13 March at the Sameba Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi.
“Local and international specialists in the fields of genetics, archaeology and anthropology continue to analyze and synthesize all available data, producing some concrete results,” said Marc Maurer, ICRC’s Protection Coordinator. Over the past few days, six families have received the answers they were searching for.
“The ambiguity they have been living with can finally end, and they can, hopefully, find some closure as they pay tribute to their deceased family members.”
In total, 1,832 people are still reported missing in connection with the armed conflict of 1992–93 in Abkhazia. Since 2013, the remains of at least 545 people have been recovered. 308 of them have been identified and handed over to their families.
The Coordination Mechanism, with support from the ICRC, continues working to determine what happened to the other people who remain missing in connection with the conflict.
For further information, please contact:
Maia Kardava, ICRC Tbilisi, tel.: +995 599 558818
We acknowledge Source link for the information.
