Statement delivered by H.E. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations, at Security Council Briefing on the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2474 (Persons Reported Missing during Armed Conflict)
Thank you, Mr. President,
I thank ASG Khiari for his insightful briefing, and for the sobering assessment of the question of persons reported missing during armed conflict. I also thank Ms. Sung Eui Lee and Mr. Ruby Chen for sharing their testimonies as family members with loved ones who were abducted. We commiserate with you on having to endure these difficult experiences.
Mr. President,
One of the most difficult consequences of armed conflicts is the incidence of civilians and combatants alike who remain unaccounted for.
Nearly six years ago, this Council recognized the increasing urgency of addressing this challenge and unanimously adopted resolution 2474 (2019). Complementing this significant step, the Council adopted a Presidential Statement on missing persons last year, which was spearheaded by Algeria, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Mozambique.
While these products have added to the international legal framework on the issue of missing persons in armed conflict and enforced disappearances, the Council has an obligation to maintain its focus on this critical issue since it remains an ever-present feature of armed conflicts.
Mr. President,
Allow me to recall the Secretary General’s 2024 report on the protection of civilians in which we were informed that the International Committee of the Red Cross registered forty thousand (40,000) new missing persons cases in 2023. This was the highest number of annual registrations recorded at that time. Sadly, the ICRC has said that this unprecedented rise continues, with the organization having registered fifty-six thousand (56,000) new cases in 2024, as was said before. It should be emphasized that these new cases are in addition to those pending from decades-old conflicts.
In this context, Guyana continues to view resolution 2474 as an important tool for international efforts to address the issue of missing persons. The resolution provides a set of critical guidelines that States can, and should, use to create holistic national frameworks for the prevention of disappearances, the identification of missing persons, as well as the creation of measures to actively search for and to return the remains of those recovered to their families.
Critically, the resolution also calls on parties to an armed conflict to ensure access and to cooperate with the ICRC in addressing the issue of missing persons. We echo this call and express support for the efforts of the ICRC in the execution of their mandate.
States are obligated to prioritize the safety of civilians and civilian infrastructure during armed conflict, which is the most effective step that can be taken to prevent incidents of missing persons. Effective early warning systems are critical for advancing such efforts. States should also have appropriate mechanisms that allow families of the missing to register cases and to create databases that will guide future search and recovery efforts.
Mr. President,
It is imperative that in the pursuit of just and lasting peace, cases of missing persons do not go unaddressed. On this note, Guyana highlights the incidents of missing persons in ongoing conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the wars in Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, among others.
We continue to condemn the unlawful detention of persons in these and all armed conflicts and stress that parties to conflicts have an obligation to ensure their wellbeing while in detention, including through visits by the ICRC. Families of persons detained have a right to information about their loved ones. We are particularly alarmed by cases of ill treatment of persons detained in conflict and condemn such actions in the strongest terms.
There is an undeniable risk that the lingering uncertainty around the final status of persons missing in conflict can perpetuate feelings of mistrust among former conflicting parties and undermine subsequent peace efforts. We therefore encourage peace mediators to prioritize this issue in the conflict resolution process.
To conclude, Mr. President, Guyana reiterates its call for states to design and implement national and regional mechanisms which address, with urgency and efficiency, the issue of persons missing as a result of armed conflict. For the survivors of war, while physical scars may heal with time, the unseen emotional scars, cannot begin to heal without closure, and without certainty about the fate of those they love. Reconciliation is a critical element of sustainable peace, and reconciliation cannot be fully achieved if all conflicting parties do not demonstrate a commitment to addressing any incidence of missing persons in a manner that prioritizes truth and accountability.
I thank you.
