How we work

The principles and safeguards behind every registry in the network: how cases are documented, how consent is handled, and how families and information are protected.

  1. 01

    Case criteria

    We document cases where a family genuinely does not know the whereabouts or fate of their loved one. Each registry focuses on people missing from its country, whether they disappeared at home, in transit, or in the diaspora.

  2. 02

    Consent

    Every case is reviewed before it is published, and only with the consent of the person who reports it. Where a case is documented from a family's own public appeal, we publish only what the family has already made public. Families may ask us to correct or remove information at any time.

  3. 03

    Non-attribution

    We record the person and the family's search, not perpetrators, not causes, and nothing that assigns blame. This keeps families safe and the registries open to everyone.

  4. 04

    Review

    Every submission is reviewed by our team before it is published, to protect accuracy and the family's safety.

  5. 05

    Privacy

    The identity of the person making a report is never published. Tips and sensitive details are received through secure channels and shared only where they help the search, with consent wherever possible.

Our guiding values

Dignity

We honour every name and every story with respect and humanity. The missing are people, never case numbers.

Integrity

We act honestly and accountably, and we are open about our methods, our data handling, and our limits.

Humanitarian focus

We document the missing and support the families searching for them.

Accessibility

Information reaches families wherever they are and in the languages they think in: free, permanent, and publicly searchable.

Each registry's ethics

Each registry publishes its own detailed ethics and safeguarding page.