Over the last two decades, the increase in different forms of violence in Mexico has overwhelmed justice services. The evolution and nature of these crimes, such as serious offences and human rights violations, have rendered traditional methods of analysis insufficient for understanding what has taken place, identifying victims, activating mechanisms to access justice, and providing adequate responses to direct victims, indirect victims, and to the society at large. Often, cadavers or fragmented human remains are found in conditions that are adverse, to say the least. This requires expert human resources who can assist in human identification and facilitate the dignified return of remains to the relatives of the deceased, utilizing tools from their specific disciplinary area.
In this sense, the use of correct procedures, by experts, throughout the entire process spanning survey, location, recovery, transport, storage, and analysis, can prove the difference between successful human identification and lack of identification. Currently in Mexico, training for experts in the forensic sciences, and forensic archaeology in particular, is scarce. This despite the growing demand for trained personnel in said areas due to the increase in unidentified persons, who unfortunately accumulate in forensic medical services and expert services throughout the country.
Within the context of the general increase in violence, the associated accumulation of human remains in storage, and especially with respect to missing persons, it has been the indirect victims themselves, often women, such as mothers of missing persons, who have taken it upon themselves to draw public attention to addressing the problem of human identification. At the same time, they have also utilized their own resources and tools to locate clandestine graves and carry out exhumations.
This situation, in addition to the humanitarian implications of the unspeakable pain it entails, can negatively impact the successful identification of remains and associated evidence if not carried out by experts implementing appropriate procedures. Therefore, expertise in the forensic sciences and disciplines, including archaeology, is crucial.
It is these same families who have approached universities to request that said universities become involved in addressing this problem and contribute to a solution. In this regard, the University of Veracruz created The Interdisciplinary Program for the Care and Training of Human Resources Specialized in the Search for Persons and Human Identification in the State of Veracruz, utilizing the framework of both its own 2021-2025 Work Program for a Comprehensive Transformation and Plan for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence UV 2023-2031, and guided by the sense of social responsibility that characterizes the academic institution. This special program will assist in addressing the problems associated with human identification and the disappearance of persons through the training of specialized human resources, one of its substantive functions.
Within the framework of this program, the creation of four postgraduate programs in forensic disciplines was proposed. Each program focuses on a specific area of expertise, which is essential, from a multidisciplinary perspective, to the integrated approach to human identification. An additional program will implement a psychosocial focus to the care of victims of disappearance. The five postgraduate programs are:
- Specialization in Forensic Physical Anthropology (Faculty of Anthropology, Xalapa Region)
- Specialization in Forensic Archaeology (Faculty of Anthropology, Xalapa Region)
- Specialization in Forensic Dentistry (Faculty of Dentistry, Xalapa Region)
- Specialization in Human Identification Management (Institute of Forensic Medicine, Veracruz Region)
- Specialization in Psychosocial Perspective in Attending to Victims of the Disappearance of Persons (Faculty of Psychology, Veracruz Region)
Thus, the creation of the present curriculum forms part of the socially relevant actions undertaken by the University of Veracruz to contribute to addressing this problem from a rights-based perspective and will contribute to a culture of substantive peace.
