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Accepted Paper:

Humanitarian actors, cultural practices and the identification process following natural disasters  
Jan Bikker (Forensic Missing Migrant Initiative)

Paper short abstract:

The presentation will elaborate on the complex interactions between cultural practices, the role of humanitarian actors and the identification process following natural disasters.

Paper long abstract:

This year has seen a number of sharp rise in the number of deaths from natural disasters worldwide, most notably due to the Nepal Earthquake and the intense heatwaves in India and Pakistan. Eleven years after the 2004 South-East Asia tsunami, the complexities of forensic human identification in large-scale natural disasters still remains challenging. While the post-tsunami period led to new areas of exploration in terms of international cooperation in DVI, the concept of psychosocial support for surviving relatives and disposition of remains, a number of forensic operational areas remain unexplored. Renewed considerations must be given to DVI processes in regions where capacity and expertise is limited and where cultural, religious and legal practices may further influence the identification process and outcomes. In addition, humanitarian actors have on numerous occasions stepped in to assist with the identification process and support the families of those missing and deceased in remote regions where local authorities may be non-existent and/or have limited capacity. The presentation will elaborate on the complex interactions between cultural practices, the role of humanitarian actors and the identification process in natural disasters.

Panel P34
Forensic Anthropology and Human Identification in Relation to Natural Disasters
  Session 1