ABOUT EAAF

Around the world, wars, armed conflicts and state repression are responsible for the disappearance and death of thousands of people. Migration, organized crime, racism and ongoing violence against women and LGBTIQ+ persons are the backdrop to the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives. In some places, these disappearances are systematic – the result of actions planned by the state or by private individuals. In others, disasters or accidents leave behind victims who are difficult to find. Sometimes, to understand these involuntary absences, they must be investigated on a case-by-case basis until explanatory factors are found.

Communities organize in order to search for their loved ones, procure justice, promote memory and demand public policies. EAAF builds scientific knowledge to contribute to these social demands. One of its pillars is providing close and respectful support to the families who trust the Team.

Main Lines of Work

EAAF works in varied contexts, mainly on cases of disappearances resulting from state or political violence.

The migration crisis involving people displaced by multiple forms of violence, climate change or the pursuit of better conditions has led to thousands of missing people worldwide. This is one of the greatest challenges for forensic systems today, due to both its scale and dynamics as well as its transnational nature, involving countries with different frameworks and practices. In many regions of the world, this phenomenon has taken on the hallmark of a humanitarian crisis.

These phenomena often overlap with and compound others, such as organized crime, hate crimes or post-conflict scenarios, making forensic intervention more complex.

Another of EAAF’s lines of work relates to present-day disappearances, which occur under democracy due to deficiencies in institutions linked to identification, flaws in judicial investigations, and a lack of efficient forensic databases. 

EAAF also seeks to influence public policy in the forensic field by providing training and promoting protocols and guidelines on topics linked to its lines of work.

Interdisciplinary and Global Coordination

EAAF was created to address the enforced disappearance of people as a method of repression wielded by Argentina’s last military dictatorship. In the beginning, it focused on forensic archaeology, anthropology, forensic medicine and the emerging field of genetics. Since then, it has integrated knowledge from criminalistics, geosciences and statistics, among other disciplines. It has had its own forensic genetics laboratory since 2006.

Over the last four decades, it has worked in more than 65 countries across the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania, at the request of victims, non-governmental organizations, courts and governments.

Today it is an international organization with the ability to intervene when forensic work grounded in a human rights perspective is needed. Due to that scope, its actions are organized into geographic divisions: Argentina, South America, Central and North America, Africa and Eurasia. It also carries out work in other regions. 

With a team of more than 60 members from different disciplines, EAAF has its central headquarters in Buenos Aires (Argentina), an office in New York (United States) and branches in Mexico, Spain and South Africa. 

Its work spans three areas:

–Forensic Investigation: Its main purpose is to search for, recover and identify missing or disappeared persons, return their remains to family members, and present scientific evidence in the courts investigating what occurred. It coordinates complex investigations involving fieldwork and laboratory work, applying search and identification technologies in an innovative way.

–Public Policy: EAAF participates in developing recommendations and protocols to help states strengthen their forensic capabilities and set standards for investigating human rights violations. It collaborates on efforts to forge cooperative responses by different states in transnational cases and contributes to forensic protocols for cases involving missing migrants.

–Training in Forensic Sciences: EAAF has an international training program designed for judges, prosecutors, forensic specialists, investigators from security forces, government officials, civil society organizations, associations of victims’ families and journalists.