NICOSIA, 5 November 2015 - The three CMP Members and the many Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot scientists working at the CMP laboratory were happy to welcome today representatives from political parties representing both communities in Cyprus. 

The representatives were briefed on the complex process of locating, exhuming and identifying missing persons. The CMP Members also briefed them on the progress made and on the main challenges that the CMP is facing. 

Today’s presence of representatives of political parties from both communities, serves as a reminder that the issue of missing persons in Cyprus affects all Cypriots and transcends political boundaries. It is important to remember that the CMP is arguably the most successful bi-communal project in Cyprus, where nearly 80 Cypriot scientists and investigators have worked jointly for more than nine years. 

The work of the CMP serves first of all the many bereaved families. In today’s briefing, the CMP reminded its guests that despite the excellent results achieved by in recent years, the remains of more than 1000 missing Cypriots have yet to be located. The CMP called for their help in working actively with their respective constituencies to help provide new information on burial sites. We stressed that time is running out to obtain critical witness information. 

The financial situation of the CMP, which depends, for the majority of its funding, on the generous contribution of the European Union, was also discussed. CMP Members emphasized the need for both communities to increase their financial support in order to speed up the recovery, identification and return of missing persons across the island. 

The CMP would like to thank the party representatives for their visit today and counts on their full support. Finally, CMP Members would like to thank the Embassy of Slovakia and the European Union for facilitating this important occasion.

End.