Assistance and co-operation in accounting for persons who are missing or dead in armed conflicts

XXIX. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED ON THE REPORTS OF THE THIRD COMMITTEE
3220. Assistance and co-operation in accounting for persons who are missing or dead in armed conflicts

The General Assembly, Recalling that one of the purposes of the United Nations is the promotion of international co-operation in solving international problems of a humanitarian character, Regretting that, in violation of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, resort to force has continued to occur, causing loss of human lives, wide-spread devastation and other forms of human suffering, Reaffirming that it is one of the fundamental obligations of Member States to ensure and promote international peace and security by preventing or ending armed conflicts, Recognizing that one of the tragic results of armed conflicts is the lack of information on persons-civilians as well as combatants-who are missing or dead in armed conflicts, Noting with satisfaction resolution V, adopted by the twenty-second International Conference of the Red Cross held at Teheran from 28 October to 15 November 1973, calling on parties to armed conflicts to accomplish the humanitarian task of accounting for the missing and dead in armed conflicts,[1] Bearing in mind the inadmissibility of a refusal to apply the Geneva Conventions of 1949,[2] Reaffirming the urgent need to ensure full adherence to, and effective implementation of, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 on the protection of war victims by all States, in particular those signatories to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, Considering that the desire to know the fate of loved ones lost in armed conflicts is a basic human need which should be satisfied to the greatest extent possible, and that provision of information on those who are missing or who have died in armed conflicts should not be delayed merely because other issues remain pending,

1. Reaffirms the applicability of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 to all armed conflicts, as stipulated by those Conventions;

2. Calls upon parties to armed conflicts, regardless of their character or location, during and after the end of hostilities and in accordance with the Geneva Conventions of 1949, to take such action as may be within their power to help locate and mark the graves of the dead, to facilitate the disinterment and the return of remains, if requested by their families, and to provide information about those who are missing in action;

3. Appreciates the continuing efforts of the International Committee of the Red Cross to assist in the task of accounting for the missing and dead in armed conflicts;

4. Calls upon all parties to armed conflicts to co-operate, in accordance with the Geneva Conventions of 1949, with protecting Powers or their substitutes and with the International Committee of the Red Cross in providing information on the missing and dead in armed conflicts, including persons belonging to other countries not parties to the armed conflict;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of the second session of the Diplomatic Conference on the Reaffirmation and Development of International Humanitarian Law Applicable in Armed Conflicts.

2278th plenary meeting
6 November 1974

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[1] International Review of the Red Cross, No. 154 (January 1974), p. 22. [2] United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, Nos. 970-973.