The Portuguese government considers Cyprus’ committee on missing persons (CMP) “invaluable”, the country’s ambassador in Nicosia Vanda Sequeira said on Saturday.

She was speaking to the Cyprus Mail after signing a donation agreement with the United Nations development programme (UNDP)’s Cyprus chief Jakhongir Khaydarov which saw Portugal donate €15,000 to the CMP, bringing its total donations to €30,000 since 2018.

“Portugal considers the CMP to be an invaluable institution, bringing closure to thousands of families from both Cypriot communities who lost loved ones due to the tragic events of 1963 to 1964, and 1974,” she said.

She added that the CMP “stands as a unique bicommunal mechanism, demonstrating that humanitarian objectives can prevail even in the most complex political circumstances”.

“The spirit of cooperation is essential in Cyprus, where building trust remains a cornerstone of reconciliation,” she said.

Of the donation, she said, “I sincerely hope that this new contribution will assist the CMP in continuing its vital humanitarian work of identifying the remains of missing persons, helping families recover a sense of peace”.

Khaydarov and Sequeira signing the donation agreement

“Portugal remains firmly committed to supporting humanitarian action and reconciliation in Cyprus, in favour of all Cypriots, irrespective of religion or ethnicity,” she said.

Formed in 2006, the CMP set out to locate and identify a total of 2,002 people who went missing during Cyprus’ intercommunal conflicts, and has thus far exhumed 1,707 bodies and identified the remains of 1,057 people from the official list, as well as 216 others.

Of those identified, 296 were Turkish Cypriots and 761 were Greek Cypriots.

So far this year, the remains of 17 people have been found, with six of them having been identified. Five of those were Greek Cypriots and the other was a Turkish Cypriot.

The CMP operates with donations, with nation states and international organisations frequently donating to it.

Former CMP third member Paul-Henri Arni said last year that Cyprus has the “second-best results in the world” in its search for missing persons.

There are 42 countries in the world in which there are missing persons from conflict or political violence, and Henri said in most of those, the success rate for finding their remains is below 20 per cent.

“Some are at zero per cent, some at one per cent. Georgia is at 16 per cent. Argentina, a very cold case, is at 20 per cent”, he said.

The highest rate of missing persons found is in the former Yugoslavia, with 75 per cent of missing persons now having been located.