Joint Statement: Leaders Express Full Support for the Work of the Committee on Missing Persons

After being briefed on the committee's work during their visit to the CMP's Anthropology Laboratory this morning, President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, along with the Secretary-General of the CMP, issued a joint statement through the Spokesperson of the Good Office in Cyprus.

The statement read, "Today, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides visited the CMP's Anthropology Laboratory and were informed about the ongoing work of the committee."

The leaders expressed their full support for the active work carried out by the Committee on Missing Persons and noted their appreciation for the efforts of the committee members, the Anthropology Laboratory staff, and all those involved in the committee's work, expressing their satisfaction with these endeavors.

The joint statement emphasized that the leaders believed the CMP's work to be purely humanitarian and stressed the importance of keeping the committee separate from political matters. They also called on all relevant parties not to politicize these significant efforts.

The statement further urged individuals who have information about possible burial sites to share this information with the Committee on Missing Persons, highlighting that witnesses could request confidentiality for any information they provide and emphasizing that reliable information could expedite the process of locating, exhuming, and identifying missing individuals.

Highlighting the need for the "uninterrupted continuation" of efforts to locate and identify all missing persons, the joint statement confirmed the leaders' shared understanding that the primary responsibility of the Committee on Missing Persons is towards the families of the missing individuals.