On March 3, in Hanoi, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra, Head of the National Steering Committee for searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains, chaired the Conference to deploy the 2026 work of the Steering Committee.
According to the Government Electronic Information Portal, in the 2026-2030 operating program, the Steering Committee determined the implementation roadmap in two phases.
Phase 1 (from January 2026 to July 2027) focuses on fundamentally resolving backlogs in the work of searching, repatriating and identifying martyrs' remains. The set goal is to search for and repatriate about 7,000 martyrs' remains; complete the sampling of all unidentified graves in martyrs' cemeteries nationwide (about 230,000 graves) and newly searched and repatriated martyrs' remains; DNA testing of about 18,000 samples; build and put into operation a gene database of unidentified martyrs' relatives.
Phase 2 (from August 2027 to December 2030) strives to search for and repatriate about 3,000 sets of martyrs' remains; DNA testing of about 30,000 sets of martyrs' remains; and at the same time promote verification, conclusion, supplementation, and correction of information about martyrs' graves that lack information in cemeteries using verification methods.
Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra requested each member of the Steering Committee to change their thinking, methods of organization and implementation, always be concerned, concerned, and urged to join hands for this particularly important cause.
The Deputy Prime Minister proposed adjusting the Ministry of National Defense's Plan to become the General Plan of the Steering Committee in 2026, associated with launching the "Operation 500 Days and Nights" to search, repatriate and identify the remains of martyrs.
This plan needs to be completed soon to prepare the necessary conditions, striving to launch the campaign by the end of March.
Regarding the key tasks of 2026, the Deputy Prime Minister requested to focus on implementing 3 major breakthroughs.
First, complete all legal normative documents, institutions, mechanisms, and related policies, especially amending the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment of People with Meritorious Services; amending and supplementing Decree No. 131 detailing and implementing measures for the Ordinance on Preferential Treatment of People with Meritorious Services to the Revolution; and promulgating resolutions, decrees, and circulars on special mechanisms, economic and technical norms...
Second, focus on implementing the work of clearing bombs and mines, explosives to serve the search and repatriation of martyrs' remains, especially in key areas such as Lao Cai, Lang Son, Quang Tri... It is necessary to deploy according to the method of handing over as soon as possible and ensuring absolute safety.
Third, drastically deploy biological sampling for unidentified martyrs' remains in cemeteries nationwide for widespread and synchronous DNA testing, meeting the set goals.
Other tasks such as completing the national database on martyrs, martyrs' graves and martyrs' cemeteries; putting the Steering Committee system at all levels into practical operation; strengthening inspection and supervision... must also be implemented urgently and effectively.
