Project Summary

The CMP Multi-Donor project aims to complement a larger EU funded and UNDP implemented programme of support to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus project.

The overall objective of the project is to close, without further delay, a painful chapter in the history of the island and contribute to restoring trust and fostering reconciliation between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. This important objective will be further encouraged and promoted through the participation of bi-communal scientific teams in all stages of the process. The expected output is for the remains of missing persons to be recovered, identified and returned to their families.

During the 15 years of the CMP’s operations, the Committee has made significant progress in locating and identifying half of the 2,002 missing persons in Cyprus. To date, more than 1,000 missing persons have been exhumed and 1,006 individuals have been identified, the majority of whom have been returned to their families for dignified burials. The remains of almost 200 missing persons are awaiting or are currently undergoing anthropological, genetic and radiocarbon dating analyses. The work of the Committee’s project, however, is far from complete and much remains to be done in this complex and changing environment.

Through the CMP Multi-Donor initiative UNDP PMO in Cyprus aims to channel other international entities’ and local authorities’ financial support to the CMP to support ad-hoc funding needs identified by the three members. UNDP Cyprus is in full synergy with the overall mandate of the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus, is responsible for the day-to-day administrative, financial and procurement implementation of the project.

Activities under this project will be planned and carried out in full complementarity with the larger EU funded initiative hence contributing to the overall confidence building process by bringing the two communities to work together, reducing the number of missing, increasing awareness and building local capacities. The primary target group is the families of missing persons from both communities of the island.