Since December, the laboratories of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) in The Hague have been processing 15 skeletal samples suspected to belong to individuals who disappeared during the 1998–1999 Kosovo conflict.
According to the Commission, during 2025, a total of 58 post-mortem samples from human remains and 172 reference DNA samples provided by family members of missing persons were received and analyzed. These efforts have already resulted in 54 DNA match reports, which ICMP submitted to the Kosovo Government Commission on Missing Persons to support ongoing identification efforts.
The ICMP emphasized that there is no fixed timeline for completing analyses of the samples under review. The process can take longer if DNA in skeletal remains is highly degraded due to the passage of time or environmental conditions. In such cases, multiple tests may be required to produce a usable DNA profile, and additional samples may need to be collected or previously tested samples re-examined.
The Commission further noted that processing takes longer when remains consist of partial or commingled human elements recovered from graves. DNA testing of multiple bones may be necessary to correctly re-associate skeletal elements belonging to the same individual.
“If there are insufficient reference DNA samples from relatives to support a reliable match, it may be necessary to locate additional family members and request their samples. In some instances, families of missing persons refuse to provide reference samples, preventing potential matches,” the ICMP stated.
Kosovo currently has approximately 1,600 missing persons, last seen during the violent conflict nearly three decades ago. Authorities continue investigations at several locations across the country.
Among the latest samples sent from the Kosovo Institute of Forensic Medicine to The Hague are skeletal remains of at least three individuals, suspected victims of the 1998–1999 war, recovered during excavations that began last December in Përzhinë, Rahovec. Excavations continue at this site, as authorities believe the remains of at least eight additional war victims may still be buried there.
