Tracing missing persons

After a severe natural disaster or in case of serious conflict people often lose each other. Relatives flee in different directions and lose track of their loved ones. Via the worldwide Red Cross network, Tracing tries to trace missing persons and restore contact.

This task is carried out in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), its delegations in the affected areas and the national Red Cross and Red Crescent associations. Depending on the local situation and the cultural context, different methods are used in each country to find people. All requests are treated with confidentiality and the Red Cross only discloses information on persons found after obtaining their express permission.

For certain conflicts the ICRC has developed a specific website, on which people looking for relatives can register: http://www.icrc.org/familylinks. These are Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo, Nepal and Somalia.

Persons with whom one has lost contact for reasons other than a disaster or conflict can also be traced by Tracing. However, these social tracing activities must not fall under police, scientific or historical activities.