 Not knowing what has happened to a missing loved one can devastate families and communities for generations. Many families continue to look for their missing relative until they have exhausted all lines of search or finally received reliable information about them. Amid the chaos of armed conflict, a disaster, or any other emergency, the remains of those who may be treated carelessly, and with little consideration for their dignity, bodies may be abandoned, left unrecovered, or buried without being properly documented or identified. The authorities are accountable to bereaved families to provide news about the search for and identification of their missing loved ones. They are also obliged to consider religious beliefs and cultural practices. The families have the right to know that their deceased relatives are treated with dignity. The search and identification process is a complex and lengthy task. In some occasions, the search process might lead to finding the missing alive, and in other situations, the missing might have passed away. It may take months or even years to identify human remains. This also means that some of those who died might never be found or identified, and some families may not receive the remains of their missing relative. What is the forensic identification of human remains? This is a scientific process that means comparing information about missing persons with unidentified human remains. The process of forensic human identification has several steps, initial investigation, search and recovery of remains, analysis of remains, reconciliation of findings, and final disposition of the remains which includes the handing over of the identified remains to the families. Step one, carrying out an initial investigation. During the preliminary investigation, all possible data that can help locate and identify a missing person are collected. The data often include a physical description, the dental and medical history of the missing, a description of the clothing, and personal items worn at the time of the disappearance and the circumstances of the disappearance, including the date and place. This data can be collected from family members, co-workers, friends, or witnesses by trained staff to prevent further distress to the family concern. Immediate relatives such as parents, siblings, or children will also be asked to provide biological reference samples or BRS with their informed consent. These samples will be used to compare with the DNA of recovered remains. Step two, search and recovery of remains. In this stage, the experts analyze the data available to find the location of the cemeteries. Following that, they extract the remains from graves. The exhumation of the remains must be carried out by trained forensic experts to prevent any damage to the remains. Step three, analyzing the remains. After extraction from graves, the human remains are examined in a laboratory. Forensic experts will try to estimate the deceased's sex, age at death, height, and other special identifying features, including teeth. Small portions of bone or teeth are also taken from the remains for DNA analysis. Step four, reconciliation of findings. The forensic team compares the information provided by the families of those missing with the information they have gathered from the remains. When these two sets of information match, the experts can identify the deceased and restore their identity. Step five, final disposition of the remains. Once the remains have been identified, the authorities should notify the family concerned, who can then proceed with final rights according to their religious beliefs and cultural practices. The entire search and identification process must be carried out by trained specialists from different forensic expertise. The remains must always be treated with the utmost respect at all stages. All information collected from the families are subject to data protection laws. They can only be used for humanitarian purposes and not for any other means. They should not be used as evidence for criminal cases. The International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, has been supporting the authorities in several countries, including in the Philippines, to ensure that remains are protected and handled with respect, and to uphold the right of the bereaved families to know what happened to their loved ones. We provide forensic expertise, technical guidance, and material support to authorities to help the families of missing people find out what happened to their relatives.