GENEVA (26 June 2024) – A UN expert said today that the recovery, protection, documentation, identification and investigation of bodies and human remains of victims of unlawful deaths are not an option but an obligation under international law and inherent to the non-derogable right to life, recognised by all States around the world, both in war and peace times.
In his report to the 56th session of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions explored the universal concept, deeply rooted in societal, religious, cultural and legal traditions, according to which the deceased and their human remains deserve respect, protection, and dignified treatment.
“Dignity does not cease with death. Bodies of the deceased and their human remains must also be treated with respect and be protected,” Dr Tidball-Binz said.
Despite detailed obligations on the protection of the dead under the international humanitarian law, contemporary emergencies such as natural disasters, pandemics, migration, and armed violence, causing mass fatalities, have revealed an urgent need to provide the same level of protections for all individuals unlawfully killed, under any circumstances, without exception or discrimination.
“Inequalities, discrimination, and injustices which occur in life are sadly replicated in death, causing extreme suffering to families of deceased minorities due to marginalization and inadequate protection, documentation and investigation,” he said.
In many contexts around the world, including ongoing armed conflict situations, where scores of civilians are indiscriminately killed, it is a necessity to clearly specify the steps needed to protect dead bodies and human remains pending the possibility of a future investigation, aiming to identify the bodies, and determine the cause, manner and circumstances of death.
“Having clear protocols to establish the truth is not an option but a duty to fulfill the right of families to truth, justice and reparation,” Dr Tidball-Binz said. “A balance should be found between preserving the integrity of investigations to ensure accountability for every unlawful killing, and the importance of returning the bodies to bereaved families.”
The report commended the United Nations 2016 Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death, containing recommended good practices for effective investigations, as the international gold standard in forensic practice, and called on the international community to take steps towards harmonizing the protection of the dead across international law by developing universally applicable guiding principles for the comprehensive protection of the dead, under a human rights lens.
Dr. Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, is a medical doctor specialised in forensic science, human rights and humanitarian action. He is currently an Adjunct Clinical Professor in Forensic Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia, Visiting Senior Associate Researcher, University of Chicago and a Visiting Professor of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Ethics and Medical Law, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal and of the Department of Biomedical Health Sciences, University of Milano, Italy. Dr. Tidball-Binz previously worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), where he helped to establish and served as the first director of the Forensic Services and Unit. He also co-founded and directed the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, an organization that pioneered the application of scientific methods to investigate serious violations of human rights and crimes against humanity.
Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
