Forensic anthropologists have identified the remains of at least 38 people believed to have been killed during Argentina’s last military dictatorship, family members and human rights groups said. The discoveries add to decades-long efforts to locate, exhume and identify the bodies of those who vanished during the period of state repression known as the Dirty War.
Background
Argentina’s last military junta, which ruled from 1976 until 1983, carried out a campaign of political repression that led to the disappearance, detention and killing of thousands of people. The work of forensic teams has been central to documenting abuses from that era, providing physical evidence for truth-seeking efforts and for families seeking closure.
Forensic process and implications
Specialists in forensic anthropology use skeletal analysis, dental records and, when available, DNA testing to establish identities from remains recovered in mass graves, clandestine burial sites and other locations. Identifications of victims from the dictatorship-era violence can corroborate historical accounts and help inform ongoing investigations and prosecutions of human rights abuses.
Reactions and continuing work
The newly announced identifications are likely to be welcomed by relatives and by organisations that have long campaigned to account for the disappeared. They also underscore the continuing nature of forensic and judicial work related to the dictatorship, as teams and authorities pursue further exhumations and identifications to provide answers for families and to document the full scope of past abuses.