News and press interest – 1st June 2005

In late August 2004, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office commissioned Inforce to design, cost and deliver a training programme for Iraq that would provide a multidisciplinary group of Iraqi scientists, archaeologists and police officers with the necessary skills to undertake the location, excavation, recovery and analysis of human remains and other evidence from mass graves in Iraq. A programme was designed that encompassed training in forensic archaeology, forensic anthropology, forensic pathology, forensic radiography, scene of crime management, project management and mortuary management. Bournemouth University is collaborating with Inforce in the delivery of some aspects of this programme. All trainees will also be taught court-room and expert witness skills. Collectively, these areas of expertise are crucial to the scientific investigation of mass graves, whether for judicial or humanitarian reasons. We invited applications for the course and selected the students in September, and they arrived in the UK in early October. They comprise 34 individuals with appropriate professional and educational backgrounds from all regions of Iraq . They include both sexes and all age groups from early twenties to mid seventies. This programme has two phases of activity. Phase one will be complete in early December and encompasses classroom and laboratory based training, most of which is delivered at master-of-science level. Phase Two is the mentoring of the trainees through the location, excavation and analysis of remains from two 'simulated mass-graves' that we have created in the Dorset countryside. We have used this method of training for masters' level programmes at Bournemouth University for the last eight years, but by constructing single graves. Simulating mass graves for training purposes has never been undertaken before, but with our wealth of experience investigating mass graves we are able to produce scenarios that are realistic, and based on the types of graves we know to exist in Iraq from our work there last year. The graves contain about 60 skeletons of adults, children and babies, comprising resin anatomical skeletons produced for teaching purposes. They are clothed and have with them the accoutrements of daily life such as ID cards, jewellery, glasses and keys. For the mortuary phase of the exercise, the resin skeletons will be replaced by real ones, originating from archaeological sites in the UK. Phase Two will be completed by the end of February 2005. It is Inforce's and the UK Government's intention, that these trainees will provide Iraq with a base from which to develop an effective group of practitioners who can conduct investigations for both legal and humanitarian reasons. It is of course essential that upon their return to Iraq next year this team of individuals will be provided with an effective and safe infrastructure within which to work, that is appropriately organised and adequately resourced.