Security Council resolution 2474 (2019) [on persons missing as a result of armed conflict]
Symbol: S/RES/2474 (2019)
Date: 2019-06-11
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/ X Protection of civilians in armed conflict.
S/74 [189] CIVILIAN PERSONS--ARMED CONFLICTS
Subjects: DISAPPEARANCE OF PERSONS|HUMAN RIGHTS IN ARMED CONFLICTS|INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: BELGIUM
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: CÔTE D'IVOIRE
vote: yes
country: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
vote: yes
country: EQUATORIAL GUINEA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GERMANY
vote: yes
country: INDONESIA
vote: yes
country: KUWAIT
vote: yes
country: PERU
vote: yes
country: POLAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SOUTH AFRICA
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                     S/RES/2474 (2019)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                11 June 2019




               Resolution 2474 (2019)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 8543rd meeting, on
               11 June 2019

                    The Security Council,
                    Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
                    Recalling its primary responsibility under the Charter of the United Nations for
               the maintenance of international peace and security, and in this context, the need to
               promote respect for the rules and principles of international humanitarian law,
                     Reaffirming the importance of addressing the root causes of armed conflicts to
               achieve sustainable peace and security, by dialogue, mediation, consultations and
               political negotiations to bridge differences and to end conflicts,
                     Recalling international law relevant to the issue of missing persons as a result
               of armed conflict, consistent with international humanitarian law, in particular the
               Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977,
               and further recalling the obligation of States Parties to the 1949 Geneva Conventions
               to respect and ensure respect for the Conventions in all circumstances,
                      Recalling all relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolutions 1265
               (1999), 1296 (2000), 1674 (2006), 1738 (2006), 1894 (2009), 2222 (2015) and 2286
               (2016) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, as well as relevant statements
               of its President related to the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
                    Recalling all relevant Security Council resolutions, including res olutions 2417
               (2018), 2175 (2014) and 1502 (2003) on the protection of humanitarian personnel,
                    Recalling further General Assembly resolution 73/178 entitled “Missing
               Persons”,
                     Noting the report of the Secretary-General on the Protection of Civilians in
               Armed Conflict of 07 May 2019 (S/2019/373), and the relevant conclusions contained
               therein,
                    Noting that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions of
               1949, which together with their Additional Protocols are a key part of the legal
               framework for the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
                    Noting further that this year also marks the 20th anniversary of the progressive
               consideration by the Security Council of the protection of civilians in armed conflict




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               as a thematic issue; and acknowledging the enduring need for the Security Council
               and Member States to strengthen further the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
                    Urging States which have not yet done so to consider becoming parties to
               Additional Protocols I and II of 1977 to the Geneva Conventions at the earliest
               possible date,
                     Reaffirming that parties to armed conflict bear the primary responsibility to take
               all feasible steps to ensure the protection of civilians and recalls that States bear the
               primary responsibility to respect and ensure the human rights of all individuals within
               their territory and subject to their jurisdiction, as provided for by relevant
               international law,
                     Stressing the important contribution of measures to prevent persons from going
               missing as a result of armed conflict, including, inter alia; enacting national
               legislation, ensuring detainee registration, providing appropriate training for armed
               forces, producing and providing proper means of identification, including for
               members of armed forces, the establishment of national information bureaus upon the
               outbreak of an armed conflict, grave registration services and registers of deaths and
               ensuring accountability as appropriate in cases of missing persons,
                     Cognizant of the great scientific and technological progress which has
               significantly increased the efficacy of the search for and identification of missing
               persons including through, inter alia; forensic sciences, DNA analysis, satellite maps
               and imagery, and ground penetrating radar,
                     Emphasizing the importance of the principles of humanity, neutrality,
               impartiality and independence in the provision of humanitarian assistance and
               reaffirming also the need for actors engaged in the provision of such assistance in
               situations of armed conflict to promote and fully respect these principles; and recalls,
               in this regard, the statement of its President of 9 March 2000 ( S/PRST/2000/7),
                     Reiterating strong support for the efforts of the international organizations, in
               particular, International Committee of the Red Cross in addressing the issue of
               missing persons, consistent with the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their
               Additional Protocols of 1977, and appreciating the work of the national, regional and
               international organizations and mechanisms in this field,
                     Expressing its concern about the dramatic increase in persons reported missing
               as a result of armed conflict, which entails consequences for the missing persons
               themselves and for their families, especially women and children, and communities
               in the immediate and long-term, and reaffirming in this regard the importance of
               allowing families to know the fate and whereabouts of their missing relatives,
               consistent with applicable international humanitarian law, which is of crucial
               humanitarian importance,
                     Recognizing that it is critical for States to address the issue holistically, from
               prevention to tracing the location, identifying missing persons and returning human
               remains to their families, without adverse distinction, that informed and early acti on
               is crucial for addressing cases of missing persons in an effective and credible manner,
               and that the manner in which these cases are addressed affects relations between
               parties to armed conflict and efforts to resolve conflicts,
                    Recognizing the importance of truth, justice and accountability in efforts
               towards reconciliation and the peaceful settlement of conflicts, and the end of
               impunity,
                     Acknowledging that full and timely support for humanitarian components can
               be critical in ensuring and enhancing the sustainability of any peace agreement and
               post-conflict peacebuilding and emphasizes the importance of inclusion of

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           humanitarian elements in peace negotiations and agreements, including the issue of
           prisoners of war, detainees and missing persons and others protected by international
           humanitarian law,
                 1.   Reaffirms its strong condemnation of the deliberate targeting of civilians
           or other protected persons in situations of armed conflict, and calls upon all parties to
           armed conflict to put an end to such practices, in accordance with their obligations
           under international humanitarian law;
                 2.    Calls upon parties to armed conflict to take all appropriate measures, to
           actively search for persons reported missing, to enable the return of their remains,
           and to account for persons reported missing without adverse distinction and to put in
           place appropriate channels enabling response and communication with families on
           the search process, and to consider the provision of information on available services
           in relation to administrative, legal, economic and psychosocial difficulties and needs
           they may face as a result of having a missing relative, including through an interaction
           with competent national and international organizations and institutions;
                 3.    Calls upon parties to armed conflict to take appropriate measures to
           prevent persons from going missing as a result of armed conflict, through the
           facilitation of the reunion of families dispersed as a result of armed conflict, and to
           allow for the exchange of family news, consistent with their international obligations;
                 4.   Calls upon parties to armed conflict to pay the utmost attention to cases of
           children reported missing as a result of armed conflict, and to take appropriate
           measures to search for and identify those children;
                 5.    Calls upon parties to armed conflict to register and notify the personal
           details of persons deprived of their liberty, including prisoners of war, as a result of
           armed conflict, and belonging to the adverse party, and allow them to correspond with
           their families, consistent with their international obligations;
                 6.    Further calls upon States, in cases of missing persons as a result of armed
           conflict, to take measures, as appropriate, in order to ensure thorough, prompt,
           impartial and effective investigations and the prosecution of offences linked to
           missing persons as a result of armed conflict, in accordance with national and
           international law, with a view to full accountability;
                 7.   Urges parties to armed conflict to collect, protect, and manage all relevant
           data and documents on missing persons as a result of armed confl ict while respecting
           privacy, consistent with applicable national and international law;
                 8.    Urges parties to armed conflict to search for and recover the dead as a
           result of armed conflict, identify them, including by recording all available
           information and mapping the location of burial sites, to respect the remains of the
           dead, including by respecting and properly maintaining their graves, and to return
           them, whenever possible, to their relatives, consistent with applicable obligations
           under international humanitarian law and human rights law; as it relates to personal
           data protection, to refrain from deliberate relocation of remains from mass graves, to
           avoid excavation and recovery efforts by untrained persons that result in the damage
           or destruction of human remains, and to ensure that, in any exhumation or recovery
           effort, data possibly leading to the identification of the deceased person is adequately
           collected and recorded;
                 9.    Urges parties to armed conflict to establish national information burea us
           or other mechanisms, upon the outbreak of a conflict, to exchange information on
           detainees and civilians belonging to an adverse party, to transmit such information to
           that party, with the support of the Central Tracing Agency as a neutral intermediary,
           where appropriate, and to open enquiries regarding these persons;

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                    10. Reiterates its support for the efforts of the ICRC in seeking access to
               information on persons reported missing and calls on all parties to armed conflict to
               comply with their commitments in respect to such access and to cooperate with the
               ICRC and its Central Tracing Agency in addressing the issue of missing persons,
               consistent with applicable obligations under international humanitarian law;
                     11. Stresses the importance of strengthening the role and capacity of the
               existing national, regional and international mechanisms that assist in addressing the
               issue of missing persons as a result of armed conflict, to provide advice and support
               to Member States, other national, international and regional organizations and
               mechanisms in this field to provide training, to exchange, as appropriate, on
               respective registries of missing persons cases, and to share best practices in close
               cooperation with all relevant organisations;
                    12. Urges all parties to armed conflict to allow safe and unimpeded access of
               humanitarian personnel, including those engaged in the search for and identification
               of missing persons or their remains as soon as circumstances permit;
                    13. Calls upon all Member States to engage in networking, exchange of
               experience, best practices and technical recommendations, and other means of
               cooperation and coordination with state institutions, and, as appropriate, with national
               commissions on missing persons, competent regional and international organizations
               and mechanisms;
                     14. Underscores that accountability for missing persons as a result of armed
               conflict can be among the components of the design and implementation of peace
               negotiations and agreements and peacebuilding processes, including with reference
               to justice and rule of law mechanisms;
                     15. Calls upon all parties to armed conflict, when negotiating and
               implementing peace agreements, to include provisions to facilitate the search for
               missing persons and to take all necessary steps to protect victims and witnesses
               testifying on those reported missing in order to end impunity;
                    16. Underscores that the steps set out in this resolution can contribute to the
               process of confidence building between parties to armed conflict, expedi ting peace
               negotiations and settlement, transitional justice processes, reconciliation,
               peacebuilding and sustaining peace;
                     17. Encourages Member States to increase their voluntary financial, technical
               training and logistical assistance for states, upon their request, in support of
               exhumation and identification processes relevant to the search for missing persons as
               a result of armed conflict, in particular to advance forensic scientific and
               methodological efforts for the recovery, identification and mana gement of bodies or
               human remains in a way that respects human dignity;
                    18. Encourages the relevant United Nations Secretary-General’s special
               representatives, envoys, coordinators and advisors to take into account, while
               implementing their respective mandates, the issue of missing persons as a result of
               armed conflict;
                     19. Requests the Secretary-General to include as a sub-item in the reports on
               the protection of civilians the issue of missing persons as a result of armed conflict,
               including measures undertaken by parties to armed conflict in the implementation of
               the provisions of this resolution, and to brief the Security Council every twelve
               months on the implementation of the resolution, within the annual briefing on the
               protection of civilians.




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