2023-08-28 06:33:19
August 30th in the sign of the missing – Head of the Red Cross Tracing Service: “It is a fundamental right to know the fate of missing relatives!”
Vienna (OTS) – War, violence, hunger, natural disasters – there are always serious reasons why people’s living conditions change suddenly, families are torn apart, people have to leave home in haste. In these extreme situations, it is not uncommon for the contact to relatives to suddenly break off and can no longer be restored on your own.
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict – one of more than a hundred armed conflicts worldwide – the number of inquiries to the tracing service of the Austrian Red Cross has continued to rise. “It’s not just the inquiries related to the Ukraine conflict that keep us busy,” says Claire Schocher-Döring, head of the tracing service and family reunification, on the occasion of the World Day of the Disappeared on August 30. “People from other conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Iran or Syria also hope to find their relatives with our help.”
Red Cross helps with worldwide network
“We are in constant contact with the ‘Central Tracing Agency’ (CTA) of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, where all search queries from Ukraine and Russia are also recorded and coordinated,” says Schocher-Döring. “Inquiries from people who are in Austria are handled by us and forwarded if necessary.”
Since the start of the armed conflict in Ukraine, the Central Tracing Agency has received more than 57,000 calls, emails and online inquiries from families seeking information regarding their loved ones in the conflict zone. The head of the “Central Tracing Agency” is Florence Anselmo. She explains: “We live in a world that is constantly changing. What never changes is that war, violence, natural disasters and displacement tear families apart and cause them great suffering. Her greatest need in this crisis situation is to reconnect with her loved ones.”
Fates are resolved and families reunited every day
The tracing service of the Austrian Red Cross is thus part of a global network of Red Cross tracing services. In 2022 alone, this network was able to locate 12,519 missing persons and reunite 4,774 families. Every minute, more than four families torn apart by armed conflict, violence or flight can contact each other. Every hour the fate of a missing person is clarified. Every day 13 people are reunited with their families.
“The clarification of uncertain fates is one of the most fundamental tasks of the Red Cross, which was already laid down in the 1949 Geneva Convention. Our service is free. We do not pass on anything that is entrusted to us without consent,” explains Schocher-Döring. She clarifies: “It is a fundamental right to know the fate of missing loved ones!”
Further information on the tracing service of the Austrian Red Cross: Here click
About Trace the Face: Here click
Information on family reunification: Here click
Information on the ICRC’s “Central Tracing Agency” in Geneva: Here click
Photos: Here click
Questions & contact:
Austrian red cross
Mag. Gerald Richter
Press and media service
+43158900153 +436645444619
gerald.richter@roteskreuz.at
www.roteskreuz.at
1693204894
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