Capt. Russell Craig
First published in
SFOR Informer#137, April 25, 2002

There are an estimated 40,000 persons, missing from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), a legacy of the 1992-1995 war. The International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) assists families, regardless of their ethnic or religious origins, in determining the fate of loved ones lost during this conflict.

Tuzla - The ICMP was created in 1996 at the G-7 summit, in Lyon, France. They carry out their mission as the uncertainty surrounding the fate of missing loved ones has been a continuing source of anguish to the hundreds of thousands of people who lost a member of their family, and a major obstacle to rebuilding society in the former Yugoslavia.

Unfortunately many of these family members may now be dead, indeed over 10,000 bodies have been exhumed.
"The problem is how to identify them, from Srebrenica, solid forensic methods have only identified five to eight percent," said Edin Jasaragic, team leader at the ICMP Identification Co-Ordination Centre (ICC) in Tuzla.

Identification Co-ordination Centre
To address this problem, the ICMP employs cutting edge technology to ensure that the bodies can be identified, quickly and accurately.
"We use DNA sampling, for this we need: a body, from which a bone sample is taken, and a blood sample from a living relative," said Jasaragic.

"Each human being has a distinct DNA code, as distinct as a fingerprint," said Jon Davoren, senior scientist, Sarajevo laboratory. Davoren explained that humans inherit this distinct code from their parents, therefore their DNA will bear similarities with their relatives, the closer the relative, the closer the match. The labs analyse certain points of the genetic code, much as fingerprinting concentrates on certain areas, to try and determine whether a body's DNA matches a living relative's. When a match does occur, it is very accurate.

"There is a one in a billion chance of two people having the same matches," said Jasaragic. Once a match is made, the paperwork is sent to the pathologist, who, if satisfied, will sign the death certificate. To ensure that the system works, bodies have to be recovered and blood samples taken.

Blood Samples
There are family outreach centres for collecting blood samples in Tuzla, Sarajevo, Mostar, Sanski Most and Banja Luka. There are also mobile teams that can collect samples from all over BiH.
"Most of the staff have worked for a long time with the ICMP, and are trained on how to approach people (relatives) and how to take blood samples," said Jasaragic.

Jasaragic explained that the process was entirely voluntary, and ensured complete confidentiality for the donor. Once either blood or bone samples have been taken, they are bar coded so that no one outside of the central office is aware of the details behind the sample; sex or ethnicity cannot bias the scientists.
The DNA is separated and teased out of the blood samples at the Tuzla University Clinical Centre.

Bone Samples
Exhumations must be conducted to gain bone samples.
"Witnesses, perpetrators, victims and neighbors report possible graves to the local commission, or to international organisations, such as SFOR or the ICMP," said French Gendarmerie Maj. Jean-Yves Bastard, LNO to the ICMP and International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Bastard explained that after a pre-visit, which assesses the location and history of the site, the local courts issue an exhumation warrant. It is at this point that the ICMP co-ordinates the proceedings. The digs are closely monitored by several agencies, to ensure that they are conducted legally and thoroughly. SFOR can provide information for the pre-visits and enhanced security for the site and surrounding area, if the dig is sensitive. If there is evidence of war crimes, then the corpses are sealed and sent to The Hague, otherwise they go to one of the morgues in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, or Tuzla for the Podrinje Identification Project (PIP).

The PIP helps the DNA sampling project, as well as carrying out more traditional forensic work: identifying bodies through old injuries and from clothes; such work is also carried out in the Tuzla hospital. Small bone samples are also taken, bar coded for anonymity and sent to a laboratory in Sarajevo, where the DNA is extracted.
"The (bone's) surface is cleaned of flesh and dirt, the bone marrow is bleached, it is then ground down, and the DNA sample taken from that," said Davoren.

The results
As at the blood sample lab, the results are displayed clearly using a computer program that allows the staff easy access to the information.
The DNA results from the blood and bone samples are returned to the ICC in Tuzla, where matches are co-ordinated.
The DNA programme had its first successful match on Nov 16 2001, however the programme only became fully operational in March, since then the numbers have been impressive.

"This is something we are proud of, we have made 100 matches, in such a short time it's great," said Jasargic.
Information on the ICMP compiled from their website:
http://www.ic-mp.org/icfact.asp

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