The full-scale war in Ukraine has exposed the structural weaknesses and fragmentation of the national mechanism for tracing missing persons, both civilian and military. The study “How to Improve the System for Tracing Missing Persons?” analyzes the current legal and institutional framework, revealing that it remains adapted mainly to peacetime conditions and is unable to handle the wartime scale of disappearances.

Although Ukraine has established an extensive system of state bodies dealing with the issue of missing persons, it remains ineffective and marked by significant duplication of responsibilities. Through a comprehensive legal and practical analysis, we identify systemic inconsistencies between general civil procedures and special wartime regulations. The coexistence of multiple overlapping institutions, including the National Police, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Security Service of Ukraine, the Commissioner for Missing Persons, and the Coordination Headquarters for Prisoners of War, has created legal uncertainty, duplicative registries, and procedural confusion for families seeking information.

As of August 29, 2025, the Unified Register of Missing Persons Under Special Circumstances in Ukraine listed approximately 70,000 individuals, with nearly 69,430 criminal investigations opened and distributed among roughly 1,321 National Police investigators, supported by regional centers for tracing missing persons. By 26 March 2025, authorities had confirmed 9,739 individuals previously reported missing as alive. Despite extreme workload conditions, the national investigative mechanism has processed only about one-sixth of all registered cases since the start of Russia’s full-scale aggression. At the same time, the actual number of missing persons is believed to be significantly higher.

These findings highlight the urgent need to reassess and modernize Ukraine’s approach to tracing missing persons, moving from a fragmented, police-centered system toward a coherent and sustainable model grounded in human rights and humanitarian principles. The study further examines relevant international experience, including practices established in post-conflict contexts and through mechanisms under international humanitarian and human rights law to identify models of institutional coordination, data management, and family support that could inform reforms in Ukraine. This comparative analysis serves as the basis for outlining key conclusions and recommendations aimed at improving the national framework and aligning it with global standards for the protection of the rights of missing persons and their families.

Conclusions and Recommendations are available via the link.