Mexico: At least 44 persons identified

The BBC reports that forensic scientists in Mexico have assembled 44 sets of human remains buried in a well in Jalisco state. Discovered just outside the city of Guadalajara, the human remains were hidden in 119 black bags, discovered earlier in September. Jalisco is the heartland of one of Mexico’s most violent drug gangs and this is the second major find of human remains in the state this year. https://bbc.in/2kxEkjf

Enforced disappearance in Thailand

AFP reports on the memorial ceremony for an environmental activist in Thailand whose charred remains were found in a reservoir earlier this month. The article notes that Thailand is among the deadliest places in Asia for environmental and rights defenders – the UN has counted more than 80 cases of enforced disappearance in the country since 1980. https://yhoo.it/2lXfA3X

Prosecutors from Serbia and BIH cooperate on missing persons

Delegations from the Prosecutor’s Office…

Enforced disappearance in Kashmir

The Guardian carries an interview with Parveena Ahangar, chair of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons in Indian-administered Kashmir. “Between 8,000 and 10,000 Kashmiris have been victims of enforced disappearance,” she says. “Ours is not a conventional organization of activists but a community of sufferers who share pain, support each other and live with hope that our disappeared children will be returned . . . we are seeking the answer to our questions – Where have you taken our sons? Where are our husbands?” https://bit.ly/2kL6R4T

Mexico: President facilitate Ayotzinapa investigation

At a meeting this week in Mexico City with parents of the 43 students of the Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College who disappeared in 2014, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador promised to facilitate a more vigorous investigation of the case, beginning with a further meeting between the parents and Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero next week…

At least two persons exhumed in Srebrenica

N1 reports that incomplete remains of at least two people have been found at the Kazani settlement near Srebrenica. According to the Missing Persons Institute of Bosnia and Herzegovina the remains are believed to be those of victims killed of the 1995 genocide. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) is providing technical assistance with the excavation. https://bit.ly/2lRDEVT

March for Srebrenica victims

The Mothers of Srebrenica and the Museum Of War And Genocide Victims 1992-1995 have organized a commemorative march through the city of Mostar for the victims of the Srebrenica genocide, N1 reports. Marchers carried banners and pillows embroidered with the names of victims and demanding that the search for human remains should continue. http://bit.ly/2mdIqNT

Ireland: DNA tests for Tuam survivors

A report commissioned by Ireland’s Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has backed the collection of DNA samples from relatives of victims…

Sudan: families organize to search for missing protestors

All Africa reports on the plight of 60 Sudanese families whose loved ones went missing during the military crackdown on protestors on 3 June. The group of families have launched an initiative called “Mafgood” – “Missing” – to help families locate their relatives. So far, more than 128 bodies of protestors have been found. http://bit.ly/2lPS34U

Syria: civilians head toward Turkish border, fleeing Idlib

The number of civilians fleeing Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib toward the Turkish border has reached almost 500,000. Turkish Red Crescent head Kerem Kınık has told Deutsche Welle Turkish. He said Turkey has stepped up preparations for a new refugee wave as the number of civilians fleeing Idlib reaches hundreds of thousands. https://bit.ly/2lHLAJB

Syria: nearly 3,000 detained or disappeared

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) says nearly 3,000 individuals are still detained or forcibly disappeared by Syrian Democratic Forces…

Syria: Another mass grave discovered in Raqqa

Asharq Al-Awsat reports that another mass grave was discovered in Raqqa, Syria. This is the 16th mass grave found in Raqqa since the militants of Da’esh were driven out from the city in the summer of 2017. Yasser Khamis, leader of the team of first responders, has lamented that they have encountered difficulties with determining the cause of death due to limited resources. “International human rights groups say they are concerned that local forensic groups are not getting the support, expertise and resources they need”. http://bit.ly/2m9rZSJ

UN cites abuses in Venezuela

The United Nations human rights Chief Michelle Bachelet said that extrajudicial killings appeared to be continuing in Venezuela and the Special Action Forces (FAES) presumed to be responsible had received support from the highest levels of government, Euronews reports. Alongside possible executions, Ms Bachelet’s office had documented cases of torture of soldiers and…

Mexico: families support effort to account for the missing

The Medium news portal reports on the activities of the VIDA group of families of missing persons in the city of Torreon in the northern state of Coahuila, Mexico, and their efforts to visit the prosecutor’s office in order to check on the status of investigations, and support field searches for missing relatives. http://bit.ly/2kbI9dI

Kosovo Serb Remains Handed to Serbian Representatives

The remains of two Kosovo Serbs who went missing in 1999 – and were exhumed near Djakovica in western Kosovo in 2018 – have been handed over to a Serbian government commission after identification via DNA analysis, Balkan Insight reports. http://bit.ly/2kc2b7W

Thailand: call for investigation into enforced disappearance

Human Rights Watch has called on the authorities in Thailand urgently to investigate the apparent enforced disappearance of Od Sayavong, a refugee from Laos and a prominent critic of the Lao government. He was…

Missing persons in Syria

The Associated Press reports on the issue of missing persons as a result of the conflict in Syria. It says more than 100,000 people have been detained, abducted or gone missing since 2011, while the authorities have only been able to help identify 1,670 sets of human remains according to Syria’s General Commission of Forensic Medicine. The article quotes UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen: “All Syrians, no matter their affiliations, are touched by this issue.” http://bit.ly/2lYr4Es

Bosnia and Herzegovina: human remains exhumed

N1 reports that a set of human remains has been found in the village of Josanica near Zvornik in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), according to the BIH Prosecutor’s Office. Exhumation was coordinated by the Special Department for War Crimes of the Prosecutor’s Office, and representatives of the BIH Missing Persons Institute and the International Commission on Missing Persons were present at the exhumation site…

Mass graves in Raqqa, Syria

Since the beginning of 2018, more than 5,000 sets of human remains have been uncovered in and around the city of Raqqa in northern Syria, the Voice of America reports. The victims are believed to have been buried in mass graves by Da’esh militants. The article notes that “without the resources for DNA or forensic testing, most remains have not yet been identified.” http://bit.ly/2kwhSH9

Almost 100,000 Syrians have disappeared

More than 98,000 Syrians have disappeared since the start of an anti-government uprising in the country in 2011, with the vast majority detained by the regime, The New Arab says in an article that reports the latest findings by the Syrian Network for Human Rights. http://bit.ly/2m1iNzK

Iraq: families of the missing seek the truth

The Daily Times from Pakistan reports from different parts of Iraq on the experience of family members who are living with the…

Thailand: disappeared activist’s remains found

Human Rights Watch has called on the authorities in Thailand to undertake an immediate and credible investigation into the abduction and murder of a prominent ethnic Karen activist who was forcibly disappeared more than five years ago. On 3 September, the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) announced that the remains of Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, also known as Billy, were found in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi province, where he was last seen in custody of government park officials in April 2014. http://bit.ly/2jZ6FhY

Myanmar: incommunicado detentions and deaths

Three independent UN rights experts have called for “credible, independent” investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment leading to the death of ethnic Rakhine men and boys being held in incommunicado detention by Myanmar’s military, UN News reports. http://bit.ly/2lB2dGQ

Iraqi National Team strategy

The Iraqi National Team responsible for addressing the issue of mass graves in the country…

Mexico: Enforced Disappearances

At least 40,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 2006, and officials believe that the majority were victims of organized-crime groups, the National Post reports. Nearly 5,000 bodies have been discovered in more than 3,000 graves. Mexican authorities announced on Friday that they were planning to invite a UN commission that investigates disappearances to visit the country, after years of preventing them from doing so. http://bit.ly/2lS8TQM

Sudan: Prosecuting Former President Omar al-Bashir

The appearance of ousted Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir in court for the first time has encouraged the International Criminal Court (ICC), as well as many Sudanese, to bring their own cases against the former leader, reports Middle East Eye. Sudan’s former president was formally charged on Saturday with illicit possession of foreign currency and corruption, after being charged in May with incitement and involvement in the killing of protesters during the demonstrations that led to his…