DNA identification of the victims - The pioneering work of the ICMP

DNA identification of the victims - The pioneering work of the ICMP

ICMP (International Commission on Missing Persons) - founded in 1996 in Sarajevo specifically for the identification of the victims of the Srebrenica genocide.

Pioneering work in the DNA identification of mass graves. By 2024 - 7,000+ victims identified.

📜 The founding of the ICMP - 1996

G7 Summit - The Cold War is over (1996):

• Bill Clinton (US President) proposes the founding of the ICMP
• Goal: Identification of the missing in the Balkan wars (focus: Srebrenica)
• Headquarters: Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Funding: USA, EU, UN

The problem the ICMP solves:

• 8,372 victims of the genocide
• 80+ mass graves (primary + secondary)
• Bodies scattered across multiple graves (the VRS moved bodies to conceal evidence)
• Traditional identification methods (clothing, personal belongings) insufficient
• A precise scientific method is needed: DNA analysis

🧬 How does DNA identification work?

Step 1: Exhumation of the mass grave

• Forensic team (UN + ICMP + local experts)
• Careful removal of the bones (each skeleton separately)
• Photographing, numbering, packaging
• Transport to the ICMP laboratory (Tuzla or Sarajevo)

Step 2: DNA extraction from the bones

• Most common bone: The femur (thighbone) - the most DNA material
• Problem: Bodies 20-30 years in the ground - DNA degraded
• The ICMP developed advanced extraction techniques
• A DNA profile created (a unique genetic code)

Step 3: DNA samples from families

• Families of the victims give blood or a DNA swab (of the cheek)
• The ICMP has a database: 8,000+ DNA samples from families
• Each sample carefully catalogued (name, relationship to the victim)

Step 4: Comparison of the DNA

• The ICMP computer compares the DNA from the bones with the DNA samples from families
• Finds a match (99.9% accuracy)
• Confirmation of identity

Step 5: Notification of the family

• The ICMP notifies the family
• Emotional scenes - families have waited 10-20-30 years
• The body is returned to the family
• Burial in Potočari (11 July - annual commemoration)

🏛️ ICMP laboratories

Podrinje Identification Project (PIP) - Tuzla:

• The main laboratory for Srebrenica
• 50+ employees (forensic experts, geneticists, anthropologists)
• 5,000+ skeletons analyzed (by 2024)
• State-of-the-art equipment (automated DNA extraction)

Statistics (1996-2024):

• 8,372 victims in total (the ICJ figure)
• 7,000+ identified through DNA (ICMP)
• 6,671 buried in Potočari (as of July 2024)
• ~300 buried elsewhere (at the families' wishes)
• ~1,300 still being searched for or not identified

💔 The problem: Secondary graves

Primary graves (13-22 July 1995):

• The VRS buries the victims immediately after the executions
• 20+ primary graves (Kravica, Branjevo, Kozluk...)

October-November 1995 - The VRS moves the bodies:

• NATO satellite imagery had revealed the primary graves
• The VRS panics - tries to conceal the evidence
• Bulldozers dig the bodies out of the primary graves
• Trucks transport the bodies 50-100 km
• Burial in secondary graves (hidden locations)

Consequences:

• One body scattered across 3-4 different graves
• Head in one grave, arms in another, legs in a third
• The ICMP has to reassemble the parts through DNA
• The identification process takes years

Example: Hamed Salihović

"My brother Hamed was killed in Kravica on 13 July 1995. We found his bones in 4 different graves: the head in Glogova 1 (1998), the arms in Zeleni Jadar 5 (2000), the ribs in Blječeva 3 (2003), the legs in Čančari Road 3 (2005). The ICMP reassembled the parts through DNA. We buried him on 11 July 2007 in Potočari - 12 years after the killing."

— Munira Salihović, sister of the victim

📊 Identification statistics (1996-2024)

Trend: Slower progress in recent years (the most difficult cases - scattered remains, degraded DNA).

👥 Families' stories

Hatidža Mehmedović - "Mother of Srebrenica"

"I lost my son Azim (21) and my husband Alija (45) in Srebrenica. The ICMP found them in 2007 - 12 years of waiting. The DNA identification gave me peace - I knew that it was really them. I buried them on 11 July 2007 in Potočari. Every year I come to their graves. The ICMP returned my loved ones to me - at least for burial."

When DNA finds no match

"My father Salih went missing on 12 July 1995 in Potočari. The VRS took him away. I gave a DNA sample 5 times (1998, 2003, 2008, 2015, 2022). The ICMP called me in 2023: 'We have found him.' I waited 28 years. 11 July 2024 - I buried my father. He was 63 years old when he was killed. Now he has peace."

— Fatima Salihović, daughter of the victim

🌍 The ICMP spreads around the world

Pioneering work in Srebrenica - the ICMP's methods are used around the world:

• Iraq - Identification of the victims of Saddam Hussein (mass graves of Kurds)
• Syria - Identification of the victims of the civil war
• Mexico - Identification of the victims of the cartels (10,000+ missing)
• Ukraine - Identification of the victims of the war (2022-2024)
• Natural disasters - Tsunami (2004), earthquakes

The ICMP is the global standard for the identification of the victims of mass crimes.

📖 Sources

• ICMP - Official Reports (1996-2024)
• ICMP - DNA Identification Database
• Podrinje Identification Project - Tuzla Laboratory Reports
• ICTY - Forensic Evidence (ICMP DNA used in trials)
• Srebrenica Memorial Center - Records of Identified Victims
• Mothers of Srebrenica - Testimonies

💬 Quote

"DNA identification is not just science. It is dignity. Families have the right to know where their loved ones are. The ICMP has restored the identity of the victims of the genocide. That is justice."

— Kathryne Bomberger, director of the ICMP (1996-2018)