Under the Tripartite Commission’s umbrella, nine human remains, including a Saudi citizen, among the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia missing persons list, gone missing during the 1990-1991 Gulf War and whose relatives have remained without news since were officially buried in the State of Kuwait. Finally, after 30 years of painful uncertainty, the families now have clarity on the fate of their loved ones – and our thoughts remain with all those still waiting for answers, hoping that they too may gain closure in the near future.

This development follows conclusive DNA analyses conducted and matching with Kuwait’s database of Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing persons and third-country nationals, led by the General Department of Forensic Evidences in the Ministry of Interior in the State of Kuwait. This enabled the closure of another 20 missing persons’ cases among the State of Kuwait missing persons’ list earlier this year.

The human remains in question had been found at a burial site in Iraq’s Samawa district back in March 2019, thanks to the Iraqi and Kuwaiti authorities’ joint efforts assisted by experts from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) within the frame of the Technical Sub-Committee.

The Tripartite Commission and its Technical Sub-Committee were set up in 1991 and 1994, respectively, to help ascertain the fate of people missing in connection with the 1990-1991 Gulf War. They are chaired by the ICRC and composed of representatives of the Republic of Iraq, the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of France. The UNAMI joined in 2014 as an observer. The Tripartite Commission members continue to work relentlessly to search for those still unaccounted for in relation to the conflict.