When someone goes missing, the ICRC and National Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies have a system of tracing requests that family members can fill in, which include as many relevant details as possible. The ICRC also registers people in detention. In this regard, ICRC’s detention work goes hand in hand with its activities that aim to restore family links. When a tracing request matches with a detainee that the ICRC is visiting, family news can be exchanged through Red Cross messages, thereby providing a measure of protection for the detainee. From that moment on, it is less likely that he or she will go missing.