On 8th December 2024, the Assad regime in Syria collapsed at the hands of an offensive by opposition forces Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. Amid scenes of shock and jubilation, approximately 2,000 detainees held at the notorious Seydnaya prison outside Damascus emerged to a fundamentally changed Syria, whilst thousands crowded…
On 6th April 1994, within the context of an already brutal civil war, a plane carrying Rwandan President Habyarimana, a Hutu, was shot down, and all those onboard killed. The response of Hutu extremists to the assassination was a fierce campaign of revenge. The following 100 days saw the slaughter of between 800,000 and 1…
Mass graves are a salient legacy of the Balkan wars – Kosovo1 is no exception to this. Indeed, the legacy of mass graves, as potential evidence of committed atrocities, continues to have a lasting impact on Kosovo society, especially on the families who have lost loved ones. Mass graves are sites where multiple perspectives…
© CEDI/Caroline Amar This International Women’s Day, centred around the theme of ‘Accelerate Action’, we at MaGPIE take this opportunity to acknowledge the women who, in the face of loss and pain, take it upon themselves to search for their disappeared loved ones. Across the globe, enforced disappearance remains a pervasive crime used…
With more than 200,000 victims of the internal armed conflict (1960-1996), including around 45,000 disappeared, the great majority at the hands of government forces, Guatemala has largely failed to address the issue of the Missing. For the families of the dead and the missing the prospect of achieving justice, including ascertaining the facts and circumstances…
The MaGPIE team acknowledges Aboriginal peoples of the distinct traditional lands and language groups of Western Australia as the Traditional Owners of the land upon which this research is based. We pay respect to Elders past and present and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are warned…
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project (MMP) captured more than 63,000 deaths or disappearances during migration from 2014 to 2023, while its recent report denoted in multiple circumstances that the recorded numbers were most certainly an undercount of the true numbers.[1] A decade ago, Reineke and Martínez observed that ‘the invisibility of migrant deaths relates to the…
As the first annual report with facts and figures on progress, publication and plans is written and submitted to the steering group for scrutiny, this blog is more of a personal reflection on the past 12 months. An ode, in pictures, to the MaGPIE team and its journey … MaGPIE was conceived…
At Bournemouth University, the MaGPIE team is supported by an industry-led steering group that plays a crucial role in ensuring its research is both relevant and of the highest quality. These experts collaborate with the team to keep the research aligned with its core objectives, ensuring that the project’s goals are clearly defined, met, and…
Mapping projects related to mass atrocities and human rights violations are prevalent across the globe. Despite their often well-intentioned origins, there has been minimal practical research and subsequent output focused on what constitutes effective mapping. Furthermore, there is a lack of guidance on how to balance the pursuit of justice with the need to…