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Paper short abstract:

The presentation aims to provide the participants an understanding of the challenges faced in the collection of ante-mortem and post-mortem of migrants in the identification process of irregular migrants

Paper long abstract:

At least 19000 irregular migrants are reported to have died or gone missing on the Mediterranean Sea routes and in mainland Europe since 2014. Depending on the migratory route, an estimated 25-80% of those reported to have died are never recovered. It is believed that more than half of the deceased migrants found remain unidentified. Clear figures are unavailable due to the absence of national and European-wide centralised reporting systems on migrant deaths. Thousands of families are still looking for their missing relatives globally and remain in a state of ambiguous loss and struggling to cope in the absence of any information or closure. The transnational and complex nature of irregular migration as well as the continued diversification of migratory routes creates significant challenges not only for the families of the missing who are seeking information but also authorities and organisations tasked with the investigative process. Families face numerous challenges and legal obstacles in their attempt to find their missing relatives. Not only because of state policies and differing national legal frameworks, but also due to limitations in the collection of appropriate ante-mortem information for forensic identification purposes, including DNA. Post-mortem procedures still vary significantly across Europe. The effort to identify the deceased may further be hampered due to gaps in forensic knowledge in cultural, dental, genetic and anthropological data and indicators relevant to specific migrant populations limiting the ability to accurately identify the deceased and deduct clues as to the geographical origin of the individual. The presentation aims to provide the participants an understanding of the challenges faced in the collection of ante-mortem and post-mortem of migrants in the identification process of irregular migrants. This will be illustrated through examples of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean region and Mainland Europe. It is hoped that the presentation will not only provide the participants with a better understanding of the forensic challenges in the identification process, but may also provide food-for-thought for a re-think of the forensic approach for the identification of deceased irregular migrants.