Signature of the IV contribution agreement for the Committee on Missing Persons

The Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) was established in April 1981 by agreement between the Greek Cypriot and the Turkish Cypriot communities under the auspices of the United Nations. This bi-communal committee has the mandate to establish the fate of missing persons without attributing any responsibility for the cause of death.

Since 2006, the European Union has been the major donor in support to the CMP. Specifically, the project funded by the European Union in support to the CMP helps exhumation, identification and return of the remains of missing persons to their relatives, with the primary objective to achieve accurate and reliable data on the fate of missing persons. The Commission believes that this helps to achieve a better understanding of mutual concerns and fosters cooperation between the two communities.

This agreement brings the EU contribution in support to the CMP up to EUR 7.5 million. So far, the remains of 321 missing persons have been identified and returned to their families. 

In order to further improve the trust between the two communities, the project plans to increasingly involve the families of the missing persons in the implementation, initially through raising awareness at a joint event and information sessions in primary schools.