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Human rights and humanitarian forensic action: the experience in Uruguay

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The daily practice of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences is closely related to human rights, as it implies the study of phenomena such as violent deaths, sexual crimes, gender-based violence,… Click to show full abstract

The daily practice of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences is closely related to human rights, as it implies the study of phenomena such as violent deaths, sexual crimes, gender-based violence, different forms of child abuse, torture, deaths in custody and patients’ rights. The very ethics of the professional practice, as agreed in the Ethical Principles Guidelines of the Red Iberoamericana de Instituciones de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses (Ibero-American Network of Institutions of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences), involves the core axiological foundation of respect for human rights, including those of all persons with whom professionals interact in their work, whether primary victims, secondary victims or perpetrators [1]. Humanitarian Forensic Action (HFA) is considered a new field of Forensic Medicine and Forensic Sciences [2]. According to the International Court of Justice, humanitarian action is defined as the activities carried out by organisations and individuals “to prevent and alleviate human suffering wherever it may be found” and “to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being” (alive or dead) [3]. One might ask, then, what does HFA propose that is new? According to Tidball-Binz [3], HFA is “the application of forensic science to humanitarian activities”. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), these activities “seek to alleviate human suffering and protect the dignity of all victims of armed conflict and catastrophes, carried out in a neutral, impartial and independent manner, free of charge and framed under International Humanitarian Law” [2]. The recovery and identification of the remains of victims of extrajudicial executions in the Spanish Civil War or of Argentine soldiers in the Islas Malvinas/ Falkland Islands conflict, and the management of dead bodies in the context of major humanitarian disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the Ebola epidemic in Africa, or the humanitarian crisis caused by the drowning in the Mediterranean Sea of hundreds of people trying to emigrate from Africa to Europe, are some examples that clearly illustrate the need for the development of this field of forensic action [2–6]. The definition of HFA warrants the following comments:

Keywords: human rights; action; humanitarian forensic; forensic sciences; medicine; forensic action

Journal Title: Forensic Sciences Research
Year Published: 2022

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