Using Forensics to Identify Victims’ Remains and Cause of Death

Healing after a Brutal Dictatorship

During Argentina’s military dictatorship (1976-1983), between 10,000 and 30,000 people were killed or “disappeared” by the state. In many cases, the fates and the location of the remains of these victims of state violence remain undiscovered. Over the past two decades, the EAAF has worked to rectify this situation. The organization’s goal is threefold: to return victims’ remains to their families and thus aid in the healing process; to provide evidence for legal cases against the perpetrators of state violence; and to train and support the formation of other forensic teams in countries that have suffered periods of violence and need to investigate the past.

Investigative Team Uncovers Disappeared Victims’ Remains

The EAAF has a permanent investigative team that researches information on people who were disappeared. The group usually begins a case with a preliminary investigation to ascertain where the person might be buried, interviewing relatives, friends, other former prisoners, cellmates and former political activists about the victim’s physical characteristics and the likely time and place of death. The EAAF also studies police and bureaucratic records, which contain physical descriptions, fingerprints and autopsy records, and must often obtain court orders to gain entrance to police archives. The process moves forward when the group has obtained ten written or oral documentations.

Once the burial’s likely location has been identified, the team approaches the family of the victim; the EAAF will not continue the investigation without the family’s consent. Once the family agrees, and the group has received authorization from the prosecutor or legal authority, the team begins the exhumations. Families are welcome to participate in some of the steps. The group uses standard archaeological techniques to recover the person’s remains, and work then proceeds to the laboratory, where the EAAF scientists attempt to match the remains with the gathered information and establish the cause and manner of death.

Through this process, the EAAF has identified hundreds of victims’ remains, bringing closure to families and contributing evidence to national and international tribunals, truth commissions and local courts. The EAAF has also trained many other groups around the world in its techniques. EAAF team members say this has been an important process for increased cooperation among countries in the global South.

For more information on this tactic, read our in-depth case study.

What we can learn from this Tactic:

We can learn from this tactic the importance of empowering families and communities in the process of seeking justice and closure, particularly in cases of human rights violations. Forensic work, such as exhumations, provides objective evidence that can be more powerful than written documentation, helping to prove abuses and offering families the chance to mourn and heal. By giving control to the community, as demonstrated by the EAAF, we see the value of involving those directly affected in the process, especially in marginalized or politically oppressed groups. Additionally, the psychosocial support offered by ECAP during exhumations highlights the importance of addressing emotional trauma alongside legal and historical justice, fostering long-term community healing.