31-12-2002 Article, International Review of the Red Cross, No.
848, by Eric Stover, Rachel Shigekane While international
criminal tribunals have increasingly relied on forensic evidence
to support prosecutions for war crimes, genocide and crimes
against humanity, these investigations have resulted in only a
small number of the deceased being identified because of
evidentiary needs or a lack of resources. It is argued that an
international network of forensic scientists should be
established to develop standards in this field. These should be
guided by the principle that identification of the missing is
just as important as collecting evidence. The international war
crimes tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have
increasingly relied on forensic scientists to collect physical
evidence of mass killings associated with acts of genocide and
crimes against humanity. Typically, these investigations have
resulted in only a small number of the deceased being identified
because the tribunals lack the resourc