Ireland donates 30,000 euros to the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus

On September 18, 2026, the government of Ireland provided a donation of 30,000 euros to the Committee on Missing Persons (CMP) in Cyprus. This contribution brings the total financial support from Ireland to the CMP to 530,000 euros since 2006. The funds are intended to support the ongoing efforts to identify and return the remains of individuals who went missing during intercommunal conflicts to their families, aiming to alleviate the uncertainty faced by relatives for decades.

The CMP was established in 1981 following a UN resolution and began operations in 2006. The committee works to locate and identify a total of 2,002 missing persons. To date, 1,719 bodies have been exhumed, and 1,085 people from the official list have been identified, alongside 217 additional individuals. The identified total includes 317 Turkish Cypriots and 765 Greek Cypriots. Currently, 745 Greek Cypriots and 175 Turkish Cypriots remain missing. So far in 2026, the remains of four individuals have been recovered and 19 identifications have been completed. The European Union remains the primary funding body for the committee's work, which is expected to continue throughout the year.