Urges States strictly to observe and respect and ensure respect for the rules of international humanitarian law, as set out in the Geneva Conventions of 19491 and the Additional Protocols thereto, of 1977; reaffirms the right of families to know the fate of their relatives reported missing in connection with armed conflicts; also reaffirms that each party to an armed conflict, as soon as circumstances permit and, at the latest, from the end of active hostilities, shall search for the persons who have been reported missing by an adverse party; calls upon States which are parties to an armed conflict to take immediate steps to determine the identity and fate of persons reported missing in connection with the armed conflict; requests States to pay the utmost attention to cases of children reported missing in connection with armed conflicts and to take appropriate measures to search for and identify those children; invites States which are parties to an armed conflict to cooperate fully with the International Committee of the Red Cross in establishing the fate of missing persons.

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