What Is a Mass Grave? Why Protect Mass Graves? How to Protect Mass Graves?
11.07.22 | 0 Comments
[Melanie Klinkner is Professor in international law, with particular expertise on mass graves, missing persons and the right to the truth, at Bournemouth University. Ellie Smith is a Research Fellow at Bournemouth University presently working on a Leverhulme funded project into mass grave mapping. Jonathan Whittle is an international human rights scholar and lecturer in law at Bournemouth University.]
In the context of the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, mass graves have become widely associated with the possible commission of war crimes as investigators and forensic experts have started probing alleged crime scenes , including excavations of mass graves.
The international legal landscape seeking to safeguard the dignity of the dead, outlined in timely Opinio Juris posts, and the importance of securing mass graves as crime scenes have been noted. However, amidst the continued struggle in Ukraine to find, account for and bury the many casualties of war, it is time for a more in-depth reflection on the question of what is a mass grave? Why and how should they be protected? What important information and evidence can be gleaned from their investigation? And what is their relevance for the future?
The discovery of mass graves raises two major concerns: firstly, whether the individuals contained in the mass grave died as a result of an illegal act, and secondly, whether bodies in the grave were disposed of without observance of the applicable legal and socio-cultural norms.
What is a Mass Grave?
http://opiniojuris.org/2022/07/11/what-is-a-mass-grave-why-protect-mass-graves-how-to-protect-mass-graves/
