Kathryne Bomberger

Kathryne Bomberger is the Director-General of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and has worked in the field of international relations, human rights, politics and conflict prevention for the last 20 years. Since 1998, she has led the development of ICMP, which is today the world’s leading human rights and rule of law organization dedicated exclusively to helping governments address missing persons issues arising from war, human rights violations, migration, organized crime, natural disasters and other causes. She was appointed ICMP Director-General in 2004.

Since its creation in 1996, ICMP has been transformed from an ad hoc mechanism tasked with assisting countries emerging from the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia to a treaty-based international organization with global reach. Kathryne Bomberger has consistently sought to ensure that the global challenge of missing persons is addressed by governments as an urgent priority, in a manner that is modern, effective and based on the rule of law.

Ms Bomberger has worked in conflict and post-conflict areas as well as in areas affected by disasters and by organized crime (including the Western Balkans, Cyprus, Armenia, Iraq, Libya, Lebanon, Ukraine, Mexico, Colombia, Haiti, and the Philippines), helping governments, courts, prosecutors, NGOs, scientists, academics and others to build capacity to address the cross-cutting issue of missing persons, including through the development of effective institutions and legislation. She has spoken on the issue of missing persons at countless public forums, including the United Nations and the US Congress, and she has been interviewed by the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist and many other media outlets, as well as participating in TV and film documentaries. Her numerous awards include recognition by the President of France as a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.

Before joining ICMP, Kathryne Bomberger worked for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the UN, and the US Senate. She has an undergraduate degree in History and a graduate degree in International Relations, with a focus on Middle East Studies, from the Elliot School of International Relations at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She is an American national currently residing in The Hague, the Netherlands.