Do you still have missing relatives in Croatia?
Thousands of people from Croatia have relatives who disappeared during the conflicts of the 1990s and are still awaiting news about what might have happened to them.Some of those people with missing relatives now live in the UK. If you are in this situation, you may be able to find out more about the fate of your relative through a new initiative of the Red Cross.
Do you still have missing relatives in Croatia?
Thousands of people from Croatia have relatives who disappeared during the conflicts of the 1990s and are still awaiting news about what might have happened to them.
Some of those people with missing relatives now live in the UK. If you are in this situation, you may be able to find out more about the fate of your relative through a new initiative of the Red Cross.
As you are aware, numerous mass graves have been found across the region but many graves have not yet been located. Most recovered human remains have not yet been identified and more information is needed to help identify these remains and inform families of the fate of their loved ones.
In the UK, the British Red Cross is gathering information, called Ante Mortem Data, from relatives and close friends who may have been the last ones to see the missing person or who knew them well. The information needed includes details of the missing person’s clothing, their physical characteristics, medical and dental history as well as any personal effects they were carrying at the time of their disappearance. In order to ensure the maximum information is available, it is possible that more than one person may be able to provide the data for the same missing person.
Ante Mortem Data will be collected through individual interviews. Having to provide this information and recount the circumstances of a relative’s disappearance may be a painful experience, but the forensic experts are convinced that Ante Mortem Data is an essential part of the process of identification.
The information gathered will be treated as confidential and will only be used to help identify human remains. Ante Mortem Data is used alongside post mortem evidence and, in some cases, with DNA samples to establish positive identification.
In Croatia, the authorities and the Croatian Red Cross began collecting Ante Mortem Data in 1994. Following a request by the Croatian Government, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been gathering such data specifically for the cases of missing persons whose families live in Bosnia and Herzegovina and/or Serbia and Montenegro.
The British Red Cross, as part of the International Red Cross Movement, works in close cooperation with the ICRC in Croatia and is carrying out this work because we share a commitment to help families to clarify the fate of their relatives.
If you are living in the United Kingdom and would like our help or have any questions about this programme please contact:
Clare Dalton
International Tracing and Message Services
British Red Cross
9, Grosvenor Crescent
London SW1X 7EJ
Direct Line: 0207 201 5459
Email: CDalton@redcross.org.uk
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