SARAJEVO, August 29 (FENA) – Marking the International Day of the Disappeared, August 30, representatives of the BiH Missing Persons Institute said today in Sarajevo that lack of political will is a key reason why more than 7,000 missing persons are still being searched for in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We have set up a database of missing, active verified cases on the Institute's website. This database has 7,206 missing persons. The base will be a good tool for investigators in the field, and will help domestic and international institutions that deal with the fate of the missing,” said member of the Collegium of Directors of the Institute, Marko Jurišić.
The Missing Persons Institute of BiH has so far reported the disappearance of 35,097 people. This number varies because the application process is not time-limited, and about twenty new applications are received annually.
So far, 76 percent of missing persons have been found in the country, and about 25,500 remains have been exhumed.
So far, 27,085 missing persons have been verified.
Despite BiH being a leader in regional co-operation in the process of searching for missing persons, he said it was unfortunate that there was still no political will to find more than 7,000 missing persons.
(FENA) A. B.