UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praises Cyprus Missing Persons Committee

On 28 July 2026, United Nations Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres visited the Anthropological Laboratory of the Committee for Missing Persons (ΔΕΑ) in the UN‑protected area of Nicosia, Cyprus. Accompanied by Deputy Secretary‑General for Political and Peace‑building Affairs Rosmary di Carlo, UN Under‑Secretary‑General Jean‑Pierre Lacroix and Special Representative Kassem Diab, he toured the facility where scientific procedures are used to identify and return the remains of missing persons.

Guterres expressed “deep appreciation for the bi‑communal work of the Committee, which locates, identifies and returns the remains of the missing to their families.” The Committee, established under UN auspices in 1981 after an agreement between the Greek‑Cypriot and Turkish‑Cypriot communities, has been operating its exhumation, identification and repatriation programme since 2006. To date, 1,075 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned for proper burial. The European Union remains the principal donor supporting the work.