Missing persons: high cost of conflict and violence in Africa
New research reveals the realities of missing persons and how the plight of their families can be addressed.
People go missing in Africa during armed conflicts, violence, disasters and in the context of migration. Nearly 44 000 cases of missing persons have been recorded by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but this is just a fraction of the continent’s wider, undocumented humanitarian tragedy. Families are central to prevention efforts, as are robust institutions and laws.
To mark the International Day of the Disappeared, this seminar launches a new report by the ISS and the ICRC that draws on the ICRC’s activities and research across Africa. Speakers will discuss the plight of the missing and how to ease the burden on families.
This event is co-hosted by the Institute for Security Studies and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Simultaneous English-French interpretation will be provided.
Chairperson: Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Head, Special Projects, ISS Pretoria
Speakers:
- Patrick Youssef, Regional Director Africa, ICRC
- Maya Sahli-Fadel, Special Rapporteur on Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Internally Displaced Persons and Migrants in Africa, African Commission on Human and People’s Rights
- Amaya Fernandez, ICRC Advisor on the Missing and their families for Western Africa
- Mame Bara Ndoye, Secretary General, Association of Families of Missing Migrants, Senegal
- Ester Ikere Eluzai, Undersecretary, Ministry of Gender Child and Social Welfare, South Sudan
- Crispen Lifa, Assistant Commissioner, Zimbabwe Republic Police
