Iran hosted a meeting of the technical workgroup of the tripartite mechanism, held from November 19 to 22 in Mazandaran Province.

 

These meetings are part of the tripartite committee between the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Iraq, and the International Committee of the Red Cross to determine the fate of the missing and human remains of the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88, signed between the parties in 2013. During the meetings of the technical workgroup between the representatives of the Iranian and Iraqi delegations (consisting of the representatives of the relevant institutions from the two countries responsible for the implementation of the search and recovery operations) under the supervision of the International Committee of the Red Cross, they discussed and consulted about the technical aspects of strengthening and expanding operational cooperation regarding search and recovery operations.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Vincent Cassard, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Iran, who presided over this round of meetings, welcomed the Iranian and Iraqi delegations and thanked Iran for hosting the round, while expressing appreciation for the efforts of the joint search teams from both countries. He also emphasized the need for cooperation to strengthen the process of determining the fate of the missing.

 

Opening his speech, Brigadier General Seyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, Commander of the Search and Recovery Committee for the Missing (SRC) of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the beginning of his speech, who headed the Iranian delegation said: “Given the historical background of province of Mazandaran (where the JTWG meeting was held) and comparing number of martyrs from Mazandaran during the eight-year war and the number of martyrs of Gaza (since the outbreak of the fighting since Oct 7th), we call for urgent [humanitarian] actions of the International Committee of the Red Cross regarding the crisis in Gaza.”

 

He also appreciated the efforts of the ICRC in facilitating and supporting the process of the tripartite mechanism, expressing his gratitude for the presence of the Iraqi delegation in Iran. He called the activities of the joint technical workgroup essential in providing answers to the families of the missing and resolving the remaining cases in the field. In addition to the Committee for the Search of the Missing in Action, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran were also among the Iranian delegation who attended the meeting. An Iraqi delegation consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed by Dr. Thaer, Director of the Human Rights Department of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense, attended the program.

 

During the several meetings of the days-long program, the Iranian and Iraqi delegations explained and reviewed the latest situation of the search operations, and the three parties discussed and exchanged opinions regarding the practical aspects related to the joint search operations. While reviewing the activities carried out regarding the joint search operations, they made the necessary coordination and agreements for future steps. On the sidelines of the program, the Iranian host held a photo exhibition on the process of the search operations and the sacrifices made by the teams, which proved to be appealing to the participants.

Since the end of the Iran-Iraq war, the International Committee of the Red Cross has worked as a facilitator in the mechanism established between the two countries to help clarify the fate of those who went missing during the war. The organization has been working for years in close cooperation with Iranian and Iraqi authorities, supporting the process for resolving the cases of missing persons and human remains of the Iran-Iraq war by providing technical, educational, and specialized assistance (including following up on cases of missing persons, facilitating access to search sites in Iraq, and in logistics, weapons contamination, and forensic areas)