Interview with ICMP Director-General Kathryne Bomberger
Highlighting ICMP’s human rights-centered mission to account for the missing
With more than three decades of experience at the forefront of post-conflict recovery, Director-General Kathryne Bomberger leads the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) — the only international organization exclusively dedicated to addressing the issue of missing persons through a rule-of-law-based approach. Headquartered in The Hague since its establishment as a treaty-based intergovernmental organization in 2015, ICMP is playing a crucial role in some of the world’s most pressing humanitarian and justice-related crises — from Ukraine and Syria to the Western Balkans, Vietnam, and Iraq.
In this exclusive interview, Director-General Bomberger discusses how ICMP’s advanced forensic capabilities, its upgraded DNA laboratories, and its integrated data systems are transforming the global response to enforced disappearances, war crimes, migration crises, and climate-driven disasters. She also reflects on ICMP’s post-conflict efforts in Syria following the fall of the Assad regime, and outlines her vision for building a truly global standing capacity to respond to mass disappearances — one rooted in international cooperation, justice, and the rights of families.
As the world marks 30 years since the Srebrenica Genocide and faces the highest number of conflicts since 1946, ICMP’s work is more vital than ever. In December 2024, the Conference of States Parties to the ICMP Treaty convened at the Peace Palace in The Hague to adopt key amendments, reinforcing ICMP’s global mandate and strengthening mechanisms for states to join its mission. The path forward is clear: no one should remain missing — and no family should be left without answers.
Global Mission and Priorities
ICMP’s mandate is unique in the international system. What are the organization’s current global priorities, and how are you addressing today’s most urgent missing persons cases?
ICMP’s mandate is to secure the cooperation of governments and others in locating missing persons from conflict, human rights abuses, manmade and natural disasters, organized crime, irregular migration and other causes where persons go missing for involuntary reasons and to assist them in doing so.
This means we are helping governments to meet their obligations under international and domestic law to locate missing persons and investigate their disappearances, so that the rights of families of the missing, including the right to the truth, the right to justice and the right to reparations, are secured.
The priority is to help states build institutional, legal and technical frameworks to find large numbers of missing persons. This must be done in a manner that adheres to the rule of law, and in ICMP’s decades of experience in different parts of the world, it will only be done successfully if families of the missing are front and center of the process.
Today, ICMP has programs in several regions where the scale and complexity of missing persons cases require immediate and coordinated responses.
In Ukraine, we are supporting the national authorities by deploying forensic experts, conducting DNA identifications at our laboratories in The Hague, and facilitating data coordination through ICMP’s Integrated Data Management System (iDMS). ICMP has signed agreements with responsible ministries and state institutions and with CSOs, and has developed a five-year strategy to help the authorities develop an effective, long-term missing persons process. Since the end of 2022 it has been delivering training and providing equipment to forensic bureaus in the country and working with CSOs and family associations to help them develop an effective voice and play a central role in the process.
Since 2017, ICMP has been working to lay the groundwork for a missing persons process in Syria, collaborating with Syrian families of the missing, civil society organizations and international partners. This includes collecting data from Syrian families inside and outside Syria, and developing legislative proposals that can be implemented following the collapse of the Assad Regime. Following the fall of Damascus on 8 December 2024, ICMP is now working in Syria to help the country build its capacity to find hundreds of thousands of missing persons.
In collaboration with the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology and other institutions in Vietnam, ICMP is helping to develop advanced DNA identification techniques, as well as expanding domestic forensic capacity, establishing centralized data systems, and delivering specialized training.
In Iraq, ICMP is working closely with the authorities and families of the missing to develop effective strategies to locate all missing persons, regardless of the time period or the circumstances in which they went missing, as well as supporting legislative and institutional initiatives and delivering specialized training.
ICMP has helped the countries in the Western Balkans to account for more than 75 percent of the 40,000 people who went missing in the conflicts of the 1990s. This month’s 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica Genocide is a significant reminder of the importance of this work, which has underpinned efforts to secure justice and support reconciliation in the region.
ICMP is also monitoring emerging crises, in places such as Sudan and Gaza, where it can help account for the huge number of people who have disappeared.
Technology, Innovation, and Expanded Capacity
ICMP is recognized for its cutting-edge DNA technology and forensic capabilities. With the recent renovation and expansion of your headquarters and DNA labs in The Hague, how has your operational capacity improved, and how do you see technological innovation shaping your future work?
We’re incredibly proud of our recently upgraded state-of-the-art DNA laboratories in The Hague. The laboratories are accredited under ISO 17025. Using advanced technologies such as Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), ICMP scientists can recover DNA from even the most compromised post-mortem samples.
To date, ICMP has processed more than 77,000 post‑mortem samples, delivering more than 43,000 DNA matches. Thanks to our fully integrated operational structure, we maintain a standing forensic capacity that can be rapidly deployed in response to crises anywhere in the world.
In Vietnam, where ICMP is implementing a two-year ODA project with the Institute of Biotechnology (IBT), ICMP and IBT scientists have developed advanced DNA extraction and NGS capabilities for identifying human remains from the Vietnam-American War, which ended 50 years ago this year. This project will help Vietnam to account for very large numbers of missing persons, in some cases making identifications based on DNA profiles separated by as many as four generations.
ICMP’s forensic archaeology and anthropology work has a comprehensive portfolio of specialized operations that support investigations into missing persons cases, including conducting desk-based analyses and evaluating data, analyzing aerial imagery, conducting on-site landscape assessments, undertaking site investigations, undertaking excavation, recovery, and documentation, processing, examining and analyzing human remains, conducting mortuary assessments, including cause and manner of death, reviewing complex cases by combining DNA matches with anthropological re-examination, integrating analytical results and findings to support investigations, and developing and delivering practical and classroom-based training programs.
ICMP’s Data Systems and Data Coordination program develops and operates global missing persons data processing systems that optimize the availability and quality of data and ensure effective processing of large quantities of data and maintenance of chain of evidence.
ICMP’s Wim Kok Center for Excellence and Learning, supports knowledge sharing with partners – from families of the missing to forensic experts to government officials.
Rule of Law and Justice
How does ICMP ensure that efforts to locate the missing are not only humanitarian but also contribute to justice, accountability, and the rule of law?
It is important to clarify that missing persons is fundamentally a human rights issue. The obligation to conduct comprehensive and effective investigations of human rights abuses lies with the State, regardless of who committed the violations and abuses (State or non-State actors). Failure to investigate the fate and whereabouts of missing persons in an effective way, including the circumstances of their disappearance, can constitute a continuing breach of fundamental human rights of both the missing persons and their family members. ICMP’s mandate is anchored in advancing justice and strengthening the rule of law.
We collaborate with governments to develop and enhance legal frameworks that uphold the rights of families. For example, in Ukraine, the Unified Register of Persons Missing in Special Circumstances now has information on more than 70,000 missing individuals. The introduction of the iDMS, provided by ICMP, is expected to facilitate efficient data sharing, which in turn will increase the number of identifications and support investigations into the causes of disappearance. This will help the Ukrainian authorities to meet their legal obligations to families of the missing.
In Armenia and Azerbaijan, ICMP is helping the authorities to enhance technical and operational provisions to account for missing persons. Our hope is to help the two countries replicate the Missing Persons Group mechanism created by the countries in the former Yugoslavia in 2018, whereby Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia cooperate in locating missing persons, including through a shared regional database of active cases.
ICMP’s DNA laboratories provide scientifically validated evidence that is admissible in courts. ICMP forensic analysis has been presented in international and domestic war crimes trials, including cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
In 2016, ICMP and the International Criminal Court (ICC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation in locating and identifying missing persons, ensuring that efforts are aligned with international legal standards and contribute to the broader goals of justice and accountability.
ICMP empowers civil society organizations (CSOs) and family associations to seek justice, by providing training and grants. Its holistic approach ensures that efforts to locate and identify missing persons uphold human rights and serve as a crucial component of justice, accountability, and the rule of law.
Partnerships and Capacity Building
ICMP works closely with governments, international courts, and civil society. Could you elaborate on how these partnerships strengthen your mission in regions like the Western Balkans, MENA, and Latin America?
Addressing the issue of missing persons requires a collaborative approach. Our partnerships with governments, international organizations, CSOs and judicial bodies facilitate ICMP’s capacity to implement its rights-based mandate. In 2016, ICMP launched the Interagency Committee on Missing Persons (IAC) at the UN Security Council in New York. The IAC brings together international and other organizations to discuss data-sharing modalities, in particular concerning cases of unidentified human remains and missing persons reports by families, in order to develop interagency solutions. Participating organizations include the European Commission, EUROJUST, EUROPOL, the International Criminal Court, the International Committee of the Red Cross, INTERPOL, the International Organization for Migration, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and the UN Children’s Fund.
In the Western Balkans, ICMP actively supports regional cooperation through the Missing Persons Group (MPG), which brings together domestic institutions and family associations to foster dialogue and collaboration.
In Iraq, for example, ICMP’s collaboration with the Martyrs’ Foundation and the Ministry of Justice led to the establishment of a National Committee on Missing Persons and the creation of a National Central Record in 2024, while ICMP’s support for CSOs has raised awareness and increased the capacity of families to play a leading role in the process.
ICMP has worked with governments and CSOs in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil, providing technical assistance in DNA identification and data management, and supporting the role of families of the missing.
Syria Program – Post-Conflict Opportunities
ICMP has worked for years with Syrian families of the missing. In light of possible political changes or even regime collapse, how is ICMP preparing to expand its efforts in Syria and ensure justice and identification for thousands of disappeared persons?
The issue of the missing in Syria is a profound human rights crisis that demands urgent attention. More than 150,000 people may have disappeared during decades of repression and conflict due to enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and other human rights violations.
Since 2016, ICMP has been developing the groundwork for a comprehensive and sustainable missing persons process that can now be implemented. Our Syria program focuses on data collection and coordination, capacity building, and fostering international cooperation.
ICMP has facilitated discussions among Syrian families of the missing, CSOs, and international agencies to develop a safe and functional system. ICMP’s iDMS holds data from almost 80,000 relatives who have reported almost 30,000 people missing from Syria. Data, including genetic reference samples, has been collected from the Syrian Diaspora and from those areas of Syria that were not under the control of the Assad Regime. Additionally, ICMP has received reports concerning the location of 71 potential mass graves sites and two detention sites, which are crucial for forensic investigations and legal proceedings.
Recognizing the key role of Syrian families of the missing and CSOs, ICMP has conducted numerous seminars and training sessions. In 2023 alone, 253 outreach seminars were organized for more than 4,200 family members. As a majority of those who are missing are male, a focus has been on helping to empower female survivors, especially through participation in data collection processes, and using ICMP’s Online Inquiry Center (OIC) and iDMS.
Starting this year, following the fall of Damascus, ICMP began working in Syria. In May 2025, the Syrian government established the National Commission for the Missing, a significant step towards addressing the fate of missing persons. ICMP is recommending that the National Commission, together with Syrian families of the missing, CSOs, and international organizations, including the UN Independent Institution on Missing Persons (IIMP), ICMP, the ICRC and others, develop a strategy for the missing persons process in Syria that includes how data concerning missing persons will be collected and what a future central record or shared data system will look like.
ICMP stands ready to provide technical and advisory assistance to support the National Commission’s efforts in investigating cases of enforced disappearances and establishing a national database.
ICMP is collaborating with all stakeholders, including the newly formed transitional bodies, to establish a credible and impartial process for locating and identifying missing persons in Syria.
Challenges and Future Outlook
What are the biggest challenges facing ICMP today? And what is your vision for the organization in the next five to ten years?
The biggest challenges to addressing this issue include political obstacles, a lack of global understanding about the nature and importance of the missing persons issue, and – as a consequence of this – difficulties in securing adequate funding for programs to account for the missing. These challenges are compounded by the erosion of confidence in – and commitment to uphold – the rules-based international order.
The challenges have increased at the same time that the number of missing persons around the world has increased. Political instability and conflict, climate change, and organized crime are among the causes of a global rise in the number of people going missing. The Norwegian Peace Research Council reports that the figures are higher today than at any time since 1946.
A vision for the next five to ten years is to ensure that the world is prepared to take on the challenge it faces. We are all affected by the issue. Each calamity is an international one. ICMP’s mandate is to ensure the cooperation of governments, so more governments need to cooperate – and that is one reason we are encouraging more governments to accede to the ICMP Treaty and become States Parties. Our global membership needs to increase.
Over the next decade, we will seek to expand our global footprint, reaching more countries and regions affected by the issue of missing persons. We will strengthen cooperation with governments, with civil society, and with other international organizations to help them create and sustain effective missing persons programs.
Technological and scientific progress will continue to lead ICMP’s efforts. We are investing in cutting-edge DNA technology, advanced data management systems such as the iDMS, and forensic innovation: by doing this we can increase the scale, speed, and accuracy of identifications.
ICMP is proposing to establish a Crisis Response Platform (CRP), which will enable an increasing number of developed and developing countries to strengthen and expand their capacity to respond to large-scale missing persons scenarios. It will endeavor to do this through the rational and collective allocation of funds to establish the ICMP Crisis Response Platform and make it a global resource on which countries can draw when the need arises.
Ultimately, we are working toward a world where the right to truth, justice, and accountability for missing persons is universally upheld.
