Kazakhstan makes first financial contribution to Cyprus missing persons committee

Nicosia, Cyprus. Kazakhstan has made its first financial contribution to the Committee on Missing Persons with a donation of $10,000 (€8,600), UNFICYP announced on Wednesday. The funds are intended to support the committee’s work to identify and return the remains of missing individuals in 2026.

Donation to support identifications

UNFICYP said the contribution would help the committee advance its goal of identifying and returning the remains of missing individuals in 2026, ending uncertainty that has affected families for many years.

Progress of the committee

So far, 1,069 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned to their families for dignified burials.

Background of the committee

The Committee on Missing Persons was established in April 1981 under the auspices of the United Nations through an agreement between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities, following a call for such a mechanism in two UN General Assembly resolutions.

Funding and operations

The project for the exhumation, identification and return of remains became operational in 2006. The European Union remains the project’s main financial contributor, while the committee relies on donor support to carry out its bi-communal work.