What Restoring Family Links can help with
Understand the service’s humanitarian purpose before making an inquiry.
AI-assistedRestoring Family Links is associated with the ICRC and the Red Cross and Red Crescent network. Its published guidance describes help for relatives separated in humanitarian circumstances, including conflict, disaster, and migration. It is a specialized service, not a general people-search engine.
Check whether your request fits
The Family Links FAQ says the service is free and is for finding family members, rather than tracing a friend on someone else's behalf. Contact the appropriate office through its official site to establish what assistance is available in your circumstances.
Do not assume eligibility or a particular outcome before the service has assessed the request. A directory listing or blog reference is not an accepted case.
Prepare for the conversation
Write a short account of the separation, the last confirmed contact, relevant names and spellings, and a safe way to reach you. Ask what information is required and how it should be provided.
- Relationship to the missing relative.
- Broad circumstances of lost contact.
- Important dates and places.
- Existing tracing references, if any.
Keep sensitive information out of a public appeal unless there is a clear, appropriate reason to share it.
Coordinate the next step
Record the office contacted, any reference issued, and the agreed follow-up route. Tell the family coordinator so relatives do not confuse separate inquiries with separate confirmed leads.
Wakif links to external help as a way to discover relevant services. That does not establish a partnership, referral acceptance, or a promise that any particular search will succeed.