Every year, thousands of people go missing during their migration journeys, leaving behind families desperately searching for answers and unable to mourn. Meanwhile, forensic experts, law enforcement, civil society organisations, and local authorities often lack the resources, mandate, or information needed to identify and dignify the bodies of deceased migrants.
In 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) adopted Resolution 2569 (2024) and Recommendation 2284 (2024) “Missing migrants, refugees and asylum seekers – A call to clarify their fate”. These texts recognise the urgent need for a co-ordinated policy response to this major human rights issue.
Building on these commitments, PACE organised a Parliamentary Conference in Strasbourg and a Roundtable at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye in 2025. These events brought together parliamentarians, experts and families of missing migrants to discuss policies necessary to prevent and respond to migrant disappearances.
The PACE Toolkit for Parliamentarians on Missing Migrants provides practical guidance on the actions parliamentarians and other policymakers can take to address this issue. It is now available in English, French, Turkish and Greek.
PACE plans to launch the toolkit in other national languages and parliaments in 2026.
Missing Migrants - A toolkit for parliamentarians
Main conclusions of the conference
Speech by Gianluca Esposito, Director General for Human Rights and Rule of Law
Video address by Michael O’Flaherty, Commissioner for Human Rights
