MIA: Switzerland ready to provide support for identification of missing persons

Switzerland is ready to provide support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in expanding its capacity to identify missing persons.

“On October 27, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Leonid Tymchenko and head of the Department of Persons Gone Missing under Special Circumstances at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Artur Dobroserdov met with representatives of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland and the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine,” the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.

During the meeting, the parties discussed ways of cooperation in compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law throughout the territory of Ukraine in terms of searching for persons who have gone missing under special circumstances.

Deputy head of the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland Rea Gehring and counselor to the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine Gaetan Vannay spoke about the areas of assistance that Switzerland can provide to expand the capacity of the Ministry’s units in the search and identification of the bodies of missing persons, in particular, the provision of equipment for specialists of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The Swiss side has already handed over devices for conducting DNA examinations to units of the State Scientific Research Forensic Center in Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions.

"Police in the de-occupied territories carry out stabilization measures, search for bodies and launch pre-trial investigations. Our expert institutions carry out DNA identification and portrait research of missing persons. Also, in Lviv and Kharkiv, representatives of the Commissioner's Secretariat conduct reception of citizens together with the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine," Dobroserdov said.