(L-R) Xavier Bettel, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade; Kathryne Bomberger, Director General of ICMP;
Credit: MAE
On Tuesday 24 June 2025, Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Xavier Bettel, visited the headquarters of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in The Hague, the Netherlands.
The visit took place on the sidelines of his participation in the NATO Summit, which is taking place in The Hague on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 June 2025.
As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Minister Bettel reaffirmed the Grand Duchy's support for the ICMP and met with Director General Kathryne Bomberger on this occasion.
The ministry noted that the ICMP is an international organisation that helps locate missing persons and plays a vital role in justice, reconciliation and stability in societies affected by conflict or disaster. The capacity building and technical assistance provided by the ICMP have a major impact on the location, recovery and identification of missing persons in more than 40 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, North America and South America. Since 2001, the ICMP has implemented a DNA-based missing persons identification system that has become the benchmark for technical innovation and performance in the field of human identification. The ministry added that Luxembourg played a key role, alongside the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Belgium, in establishing the ICMP as an international treaty-based organisation and was one of the five signatory countries to the Agreement on the Status and Functions of the ICMP in December 2014. With this financial and diplomatic support, the ICMP has been able to develop its advanced forensic capabilities and data systems and establish a growing number of programmes in several regions around the world.
During his visit, Minister Bettel signed the Protocol amending the Agreement on the Status and Functions of the ICMP. These amendments are intended to facilitate the accession of new members, in accordance with the principles of universality and inclusiveness, to which Luxembourg is "firmly committed". The ministry added that attracting new members is a key element of ICMP's development, as political instability, resurgent conflicts and mass migration contribute to the increasing number of missing persons worldwide.
