Embarking on profoundly sensitive research that concerns communities of which we are not ourselves a part, involves critical awareness of the history of social research and reflexivity about the position that researchers hold in relation to ethics, integrity and the pursuit of knowledge. MaGPIE research in Western Australia involves considerable engagement with these issues, as…
Emily Fisher I spent several days in Derry attending, and presenting at the International Disappearances Studies Conference, the second of its kind, conceived of in conjunction with the new Disappearance Studies Journal. In attendance were researchers, practitioners and activists, (with many individuals a mix of all three!) working across contexts of enforced disappearance. There…
Emily Fisher In international law, the families left behind by an enforced disappearance are themselves recognised as victims, having undoubtedly suffered tremendous harm. Indeed, the crime is widely understood to impact entire communities and societies, even serving as a tool to terrorise a whole electorate. My PhD aims to shed further light on…
Emily Fisher and Ellen Donovan I can speak for both of us when I say that I was very grateful to be presenting our paper on the first morning of the first day of the DEAGENCY conference in Ljubljana. The conference focused on the ways that the dead interact with the living, through affecting…
Diego R. Nunez On the 23rd of May 2024 the United Nations General Assembly voted resolution A/78/L.67/Rev. 1 designating the 11th of July as the International Day of Reflection and Commemoration of the 1995 Genocide in Srebrenica. The measure, which condemns any denial of the Srebrenica genocide and actions that glorify those convicted of war…
Jorge Eduardo Jasso Cuéllar The 24th Triennial Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Sciences (IAFS 2026), held in Sofia, Bulgaria, brought together forensic professionals, academics, law enforcement representatives, and students from all over the world. For one week, the forensic science community had the opportunity to share research, discuss current challenges, explore new…
Image- Libya mass graves reveal 25 more bodies Ellen Donovan Much of MaGPIE’s pillar one effort is concerned with the production of a global, open-source map of mass graves which involves gathering multiple data points related to each site. Arguably, the most essential of these data points are site status and site structure.…
Emily Fisher Horizon scanning is an element of MaGPIE that enables us to keep abreast of how things are developing across the world in relation to both mass graves and mass atrocity in real time. The nature of seeing how things are unfolding in real time is that they are not subjected to as…
Ian Hanson The world has come a long way in the last three decades in terms of undertaking forensic investigation of atrocity crimes. The Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary and Article 15 of the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance state forensic investigation…
Image: Outside Comalapa Memorial Site, Guatemala Melanie Klinkner and Howard Davis “The truth is an empowering and healing force. We embrace it for the past, the present and the future.” (UN Secretary-General António Guterres) When mass atrocities and human rights violations are committed, knowing the truth about what happened matters. It matters to…