Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus

The Committee on Missing Persons was established in compliance with relevant UN decisions and through an agreement reached between the sides in 1981. It is comprised of a representative of the Greek Cypriot community, a representative of the Turkish Cypriot community, and a representative of the United Nations. Following Latife Birgen, who was the first Turkish Cypriot member, Rustem Tatar served in the Committee on Missing Persons from 1984 until 2005. After Tatar was retired, President Mehmet Ali Talat appointed Gulden Plumer Kucuk to the committee as the Turkish Cypriot member. Kucuk had formerly served as the deputy member. Ahmet Erdengiz, the Head of Political Affairs and Political Planning Department of the Foreign Ministry, is serving on the Committee as the 1st Assistant to the Turkish Cypriot member. The Greek Cypriot member of the CMP is Elias Georgiades. The third member, Christophe Girod, was appointed in July.

General Excavations and Identification Project

The general excavations and identification project is to be run by the Committee on Missing Persons, under the supervision of the Turkish Cypriot member of the CMP and in connection with the TRNC Presidency. The main aim of the project is to make excavations within the framework of the proxy of the Committee on Missing Persons, to extract bones, to make identifications, and to hand over the bones of the people, listed as missing as a result of the tragic events of 1963-1964 and 1974, to their relatives. As a result of this project, the remains will be handed over to the relatives, the relatives will be able to organize a burial ceremony for their loved ones, the long period of pain and uncertainty will come to an end, and concrete steps will be taken towards reconciliation between the two communities. Especially the second will be encouraged through the participation of bicommunal scientific study groups throughout the process.

This project will begin with an Archeological phase, during which the bones of the missing persons will be excavated.

· The second phase will be an Anthropological phase, and will include the analysis of the excavated bones at the Anthropology Laboratory.

The third phase is a Genetical phase during which the blood samples of the relatives will be tested against the samples taken from the bones of the missing persons and the identity of the missing persons will be determined.

· The last phase of the project aims at Handing Over The Bones to the Relatives through a cautious reconciliation process. This phase will also include helping the relatives from both sides to accept their losses, which is a very difficult process.

Anthropology Laboratory

The Anthropology Laboratory is the place where the analysis of the bones excavated during the Anthorpological phase of the general excavation and identification project will be carried out.

DNA Laboratory

The DNA Laboratory is in the Dr. Burhan Nalbantoglu Hospital and was established to get blood samples from Turkish Cypriot relatives of the missing and to get the DNA profiles from these blood samples within the framework of the general excavation and identification project.

CING Laboratory

CING Laboratory is the laboratory where the blood samples of the relatives will be tested against the samples from the remains and where the genetical phase during which the remains of the missing persons will be identified.

Terms of Reference of CMP

The Committee of the Missing Persons was established through the following terms of reference in 1981 in compliance with a UN decision and through an agreement reached by the sides.

Establishment of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus

23 April 1981

1. A committee on missing persons in Cyprus will be formed immediately consisting of three members. The Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides will each appoint one humanitarian person to the committee. "The third member will be an official selected by the ICRC for that purpose with the agreement of both sides and appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

2. The decisions of the committee will be taken by consensus to the extent possible. In the event of disagreement between the representatives of the two sides, the third member shall consult both of them with a view to bringing their views together and reaching a consensus.

3. Each of the committee members can be assisted by up to two staff assistants as necessary. No other persons will participate in the deliberations or investigative work of the committee. No person directly involved with the issue of missing persons may be appointed as staff assistant. The committee will not request outside expert assistance.

4. The committee will not have a chairman, but the meetings will be directed by the members on a rotating basis for a period of one month duration --- the first director will be the official of the ICRC, to be followed by the Turkish Cypriot member or the Greek Cypriot member, to be determined at the first meeting by lot.

5. The three members of the committee will meet immediately and will continue in regularly scheduled sessions for as long as required.

6. All parties concerned shall co-operate with the committee to ensure access throughout the island for the investigative work of the committee

7. The committee shall look only into cases of persons reported missing in the intercommunal fighting as well as in the events of July 1974 and afterwards.

8. The order of investigation of cases will be decided by the committee, but it is agreed that the first investigative case will be put forward by the Turkish Cypriot member of the committee. This will be followed by a case put forward by the Greek Cypriot member. The investigations will rotate to the extent possible until all cases have been examined

9. The committee's entire proceedings and findings will be strictly confidential. Any violation of this rule would place the work of the committee in jeopardy.

10. The committee will determine whether to issue public statements or reports without prejudice to paragraph 9.

11. The committee will not attempt to attribute responsibility for the deaths of any missing persons or make findings as to the cause of such deaths.

12. No disinterment will take place under the aegis of this committee. The committee may refer requests for disinterment to the ICRC for processing under its customary procedures.

13. The committee will use its best efforts to draw up comprehensive lists of missing persons of both communities, specifying as appropriate whether they are alive or dead, and in the latter case approximate time of the deaths.

Autonomous Committee on the Missing Persons

Turkish Cypriot Member

Gülden Plümer Küçük

1st Assistant to the Turkish Cypriot Member
Ahmet Erdengiz

Turkish Cypriot Member Private Assistant
Mine Balman

Secretary

Aliye Emiroğulları

CMP Turkish Cypriot Scientific Advisor
Dr. Cemal Gürkan

DNA Laboratory

Eyüp Gemicioğlu
Özge Arısal

CING Laboratory

Rezan F. Yamacı
Gülbanu Gökbulut

Anthropologists
Okan Oktay
Sinem Şöföroğlu
İstenç Süreç

Archaeologists

Demet Karşılı

Arzu Deniz

Deren Ruhi

Gizem Yenmez
Erdinç Usta

Investigation Team / Information Centre
Vedat Madencioğlu
Hüseyin Tandöveroğlu
Caner Özgün
Yusuf Özkum
Nedret Tümkan
Nejat Asilsoy
Yusuf Dalili

Photograph Expert

Hamdi Turgut Vehbi

Psychological Support
LEPİM