The European Commission and the UN development programme (UNDP) have signed a €2.6 million agreement to support the committee on missing persons in Cyprus (CMP).

The funding will assist the CMP in its mission to recover, identify, and return the remains of missing persons to their families.

“The CMP’s objective is to investigate the cases of 2,002 missing persons – 492 Turkish Cypriots and 1,510 Greek Cypriots,” the committee said.

Since 2006, the European Commission has funded the CMP’s efforts with a total contribution of €41.1 million. To date, the remains of 1,051 missing persons from both communities have been identified and returned to their families for dignified burials.

On Wednesday, the CMP expressed gratitude to the Stelios Philanthropic Foundation and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou for donating excavation equipment worth €45,000 to support its work.

“This equipment will enhance the committee’s efforts to locate and identify the remains of missing individuals, helping to end the uncertainty that has burdened affected families for decades,” the CMP said in a statement.

The committee emphasised its reliance on donor support to sustain its bi-communal project, which aims to alleviate the suffering of grieving families.