State Commission and ICRC implement project to identify remains of missing persons

Baku/25.05.23/Turan: "Forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology: humanitarian applications", an international conference on this topic was held in Azerbaijan for the first time on May 23-24.

The conference was organised by the Azerbaijani State Commission for Prisoners, Missing Persons and Hostages, the Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The event was held within the framework of a pilot project supported by the ICRC.

For the first time in Azerbaijan, the project is laying down foundations for forensic-archaeological and forensic-anthropological approach to the search, analysis and identification of the remains of missing people.

"The identification of human remains is a lengthy process. Not only biological samples are important. Cooperation between forensic pathology, forensic anthropology, forensic dentistry and genetics is important in this process," said Dr. Louis Fondebrider, former head of the medical examinations department of the ICRC and forensic anthropologist.

Discussions with many other experts highlighted the importance of establishing forensic archaeology and forensic anthropology as an academic subject at the Institute of Archaeology, Ethnography and Anthropology. -06D-