This week, the team of the Association took part in a meeting of representatives of family organizations of missing persons with the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons, Kathryne Bomberger.

During the meeting, Ms. Bomberger shared insights gained through her many years of work with the organization and outlined the key challenges faced by the international community in addressing cases of missing persons in the context of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine.

Participating organizations presented the results of their work for 2025. The ARPPK team highlighted its key achievements, including the development of documentation efforts and the launch of an OSINT track. These initiatives have already produced tangible results: using OSINT tools, we were able to identify several individuals who had previously been considered missing.

We also shared our experience of cooperation with the Coordination Headquarters, which contributed to the largest exchange of civilian detainees in 2025, as well as our advocacy efforts aimed at legislative changes to protect the rights of people who have returned from unlawful detention.

As a result of the meeting, participants agreed to establish a dedicated platform for joint international advocacy on issues related to missing persons.

We thank the International Commission on Missing Persons for the opportunity to be part of this joint effort, as well as for its support of the Association’s research initiatives and training throughout 2025.