How Ukraine searches for missing persons and supports their families – presentation of the report

On July 16, 2024, at 10:00 a.m., at the Ukraine Media Center information agency (Kyiv, Urban Space 500, B. Grinchenko St., 9), the ZMINA Human Rights Center together with the Media Initiative for Human Rights will present the analytical report “How Ukraine Searches for the Missing missing as a result of Russia’s aggression and supports their family members.”

After the start of the Russian war in 2014, Ukraine faced the challenges of finding missing persons and the need to support their families. In 2018, the Law “On the Legal Status of Persons Disappeared Under Special Circumstances” was adopted, which has not been fully operational for a long time. In particular, only in May 2023, the Register of persons missing under special circumstances appeared, which currently contains records of more than 47,000 people. But at the same time, the system of state bodies that take care of missing persons is very broad, and their work is not unified. 

Has the state done enough to protect the rights of missing persons? To what extent are the needs of the affected families satisfied by state guarantees? What areas should be improved for effective assistance to missing persons and their families?

They will tell about it:

• Alyona Lunyova , advocacy director of the ZMINA Center for Human Rights;
• Artur Dobroserdov , commissioner for issues of persons missing under special circumstances;
• Olena Belyachkova, coordinator of groups of families of prisoners and missing persons of the Media Initiative for Human Rights;
• Lyubov Tkachenko , mother of the missing serviceman of military unit A7376 Roman Pavlovich Tkachenko.

The press conference will be broadcast online on the Facebook pages of ZMINA , MIPL , as well as on the Ukraine Media Center YouTube channel in Ukrainian and English.

Please register here to participate in the event . 

This event is supported by the “Partnership for a Strong Ukraine” Foundation, which is financed by the governments of Great Britain, Canada, the Netherlands, the United States of America, Finland, Switzerland and Sweden.