Paper Short Abstract:

Forensic and expert social anthropology (FESA) plays a crucial role in the aftermath of conflict and disaster. This paper summarises the work of FESA practitioners in Australia following the British invasion, and offers insights for related peacebuilding and disaster recovery elsewhere in the world.

Paper Abstract:

Conflict and disaster are harmful to human beings, harmful to our minds and bodies, to our communities and wider populations, and ultimately to our cultures. As part of our efforts to mitigate against these harms, input from relevant experts is ideally sought by judicial, executive, and legislative branches of government in cooperation with civil society organizations. Forensic and expert social anthropology (FESA) is a specialised branch of the discipline of anthropology adapted to deliver investigative and advisory services to courts, governments, NGOs, and other legally empowered organizations, where human culture has been acknowledged as an issue of concern. FESA practice is especially tailored to work with legally and administratively involved individuals and communities who are culturally marginalized within national populations, and therefore particularly vulnerable to conflict and disaster.

Drawing on the unfolding peacebuilding and disaster recovery efforts underway in Australia following the British invasion and occupation that persisted through to the 1970s, this paper will outline the role of FESA practitioners in restorative justice initiatives. This includes the provision for forensic investigations into, and expert opinion and advice on, the return of seized lands, resettlement of internally displaced persons, reunion of separated families, and the preservation and revitalization of cultural heritage. As a European colonial power, Britain’s legal-administrative ‘border’ with Australia remained intact until 1986, when the last vestiges of British authority were quietly severed. This paper will describe the evolution of FESA practice since this time, together with possible insights for restorative intercultural justice in other ex-colonial jurisdictions.