A conference of United Nations members will convene here tomorrow to discuss a draft convention on the declaration of the death of missing persons. So far, the world organization has been unable to conclude such an international instrument because of the great legal complexities involved in the issue.
The convention to be studied in the two-week conference is a draft prepared by secretary-General Trygve Lie as revised last year by an ad hoc committee of the Economic and Social Council. It contains 19 articles applicable to declarations of death of persons whose last residence was in Europe, Asia or Africa and who disappeared during the years 1939-45 as a consequence of war or persecution.
The draft proposes the establishment of an International Bureau for Declarations of Death whose seat, composition, organization and method of operation would be determined by the U.N. Secretary-General. It also prevides for tribunals empowered to issue declarations of death, and would give the same legal respect to such declarations as official death certificates, to be recognized by all parties to the convention.
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