The rights of migrants to the identification of their dead: an attempt at an identification strategy from Italy

Abstract

Europe is turning a blind eye on a humanitarian disaster unfolding at its doorsteps, with thousands of migrants dying unidentified in Mediterranean waters. Since 2014, Italy has been struggling in an almost indifferent international scenario to identify its dead migrants. Despite the lack of sufficient resources, of the difficulties in collecting post mortem data from the disseminated bodies, and of the problems of contacting and collecting ante mortem information from relatives, it has been proven, with a series of pilot studies, that not only can these bodies be identified but that relatives are also looking for their loved ones and need death certificates. This article focuses on the administrative limbo and lack of regulations obliging single states to engage in appropriate procedures to maximise identification.

Digital pair-matching of iliac bones: pilot study on a three-dimensional approach with models acquired through stereophotogrammetry

“…Forensic anthropologists have been extensively deployed to recover and identify commingled skeletal remains, both from forensic and archaeological contexts. They took an active part in forensic humanitarian task forces in mass disasters [1,2] and in investigations of mass burials from genocides [3][4][5]. In the archaeological field, ossuariessuch as the ones of Indian groups in North America [6] or the sepulchre of Ospedale Maggiore of Milan, with its nine underground chambers filled to capacity with skeletal remains from different time periods of Italian history [7]-are frequent secondary deposits presenting a mixing of individuals.…”

Why identification matters: an explorative study on six cases of family reunification

“…Over the past years, there has been an exponential increase in the phenomenon of migration. Since the onset of the migration crisis, the Mediterranean Sea has been the site of a tragic and ongoing loss of life [ 1 ]. Even when these episodes are large in proportion, they are often ignored or treated inadequately, which constitutes a continuous trampling of internationally recognized and protected rights [ 2 ].…”

“…If there is no corpse, there can be no crime from a legal point of view. This means that family members lose the right to be civil parties in criminal proceedings against those allegedly responsible for the shipwrecks [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. From an administrative point of view, in the absence of death certificates for parents or spouses, the administration of life involves serious delays and obstacles [ 1 , 10 ].…”

“…This means that family members lose the right to be civil parties in criminal proceedings against those allegedly responsible for the shipwrecks [ 1 , 8 , 9 ]. From an administrative point of view, in the absence of death certificates for parents or spouses, the administration of life involves serious delays and obstacles [ 1 , 10 ]. Moreover, the lack of a death certificate for orphans of the migration phenomenon often means that they cannot reunite with relatives in Europe and may remain abandoned in countries of war.…”

How Physical and Molecular Anthropology Interplay in the Creation of Biological Profiles of Unidentified Migrants

“…Since 2014, the Mediterranean route has accounted for at least 25,000 migrant deaths [ 3 ], and therefore, it is considered to be the deadliest path from African and Eastern countries towards Europe. Within this plight, the victims’ rights to identity and the relatives’ rights to know should always be granted [ 4 ]. Therefore, forensic investigators have been requested to give a name to a victim, and, as part of their procedure, to first determine their biological profile that will provide insightful information to be compared against missing persons’ data [ 5 ].…”