Restoring Family Links (RFL) / Family News Service (FNS)

RFL is the generic term for activities that aim to prevent separation and disappearance, restore and maintain contact between family members and clarify the fate of persons reported missing. These activities are often connected to the psychological, legal and material support provided to the families and persons affected, resettlement or reintegration programmes and social welfare services. The management of human remains and forensic identification are related activities.

The RFL activities of the Movement’s various components are grounded in the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their 1977 Additional Protocols, the Movement’s Statutes and resolutions of International Conferences of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the Council of Delegates. The Movement’s strength lies chiefly in its potential to provide a worldwide Family Links Network.