Mass Graves and Missing Persons

Mass graves are a frequent legacy of conflict and human rights abuses. Survivors have a need to know the truth about the fate of their loved ones, and they have the right under international and domestic law, to the pursuit of truth, justice and reparation. Governments have statutory obligations to survivors, including the obligation to ensure that the human remains of victims are identified and returned to families so that they can be buried with dignity, and appropriate memorialization can take place. Investigation and preservation of mass grave evidence is essential for transparency, redress and end impunity. An effective protection regime for the maintenance and investigation of mass graves supports survivors’ rights to truth and justice.

To ensure survivors’ rights can be more adequately protected, Bournemouth University and ICMP have entered a partnership to develop mass grave protection.

This project is funded by the UK’s Arts & Humanities Research Council. The Arts and Humanities investigate the values and beliefs which underpin both who we are as individuals and how we undertake our responsibilities to our society and to humanity globally.

Follow the project on Twitter: @GraveProtection