The Families of Missing Persons from Nigeria participated in the 3rd edition of the International Conference for Families of Missing Persons in Armed Conflict Zones which took place from 21st to 23rd November 2023 with other 5O countries in attendance via online.
The conference hubs granted opportunities to meet and exchange with other families from fifty countries around the world whose loved ones went missing in similar circumstances.
A statement issued by the ICRC office in Abuja Nigeria’s capital stated that “Families gained inspiration on how they can continue to build and strengthen their family associations.”
The statement was jointly signed by the ICRC Public Relations Officer Mr. Aliyu Daube and the Communication Coordinator ICRC Mr. Qusai Alaroni stated that “Beyond supporting one another, family associations usually are those that raise awareness and advocate on the issue of the missing.”
The joint statement stated that “Engaging with peers brought useful insights on how families can be more strongly seen and heard by their peers, communities, and authorities.”
Families shared what it means to each of them to live while searching, and how to cope with the emotional, legal, economic, and social challenges, particularly when having a missing relative during an ongoing armed conflict.
The ICRC News Release stated that one of the participants a member of the Family Association in Damare Internally Displaced Community, Sadiya Abubakar said she “still has hopes” that her “loved one will be found someday, and we will meet again”.
Ms. Abubakar noted, “With the experiences shared in the conference I discovered that we are not alone in facing the pains of not knowing the fate of our family members who have been missing for long”.
The families also got the chance to meet with member states of the Global Alliance for the Missing, of which Nigeria is a member.
The Global Alliance for the Missing is a group of states that have committed to raising awareness on the issue of missing persons and to collectively engage diplomatically on the issue.
A family member from Nigeria, the only member state from Africa, made a statement on behalf of the African continent, outlying the importance for other African States to join the Alliance.
The statement urged states to work together to facilitate search and address the needs of families, adopt legislation on missing persons and include the families in the process to ensure belonging, ownership, transparency, and accountability by ensuring access to information on how and where families can engage with authorities on the issue of the missing.
The conference brought together more than 700 families of missing persons from 50 different countries, in a hybrid format. Families physically gathered in 44 local “conference hubs” and joined multilingual online sessions tackling the most critical challenges they face around the world.
“The conference was an opportunity for families to gain the understanding that they are stronger together,” said Anne-Sofie Stockman, ICRC`s delegate in charge of searching for the Missing.
“Families continue to show extraordinary will to never give up searching for their loved ones, however long it takes.”
The ICRC works together with the Nigerian Red Cross Society to help and support families of the missing in their pursuit of answers. So far this year, we’ve been able to help locate more than 460 people missing due to the conflict.
Dominica Nwabufo
