Identity Statement

Reference Code

HU OSA 386

Title

Records of the Physicians for Human Rights' Bosnia Projects

Date(s)

1996 - 1999

Description Level

Fonds

Extent and medium (processed)

60 Archival boxes, 7.5 linear meters
25 Archival card box, 7.88 linear meters
21 VHS PAL, 0.53 linear meters

Context

Name of creator(s)

Physicians for Human Rights

Content and Structure

Scope and Content (Abstract)

Materials include reports, databases, lists, forms, memos, correspondence, handbooks and manuals, newsletters, press releases and clippings, maps, photographs and videos.

The fonds consists of the documentation of three projects ran by the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina: the Ante Mortem DataBase Project, the Identification Project and the Forensic Assistance Project, collectively known as the Bosnia Projects. The records give a detailed insight into the tireless work which PHR carried out in order to identify the thousands of victims of the war in the former Yugoslavia exhumed from the various mass graves scattered throughout Bosnia.

By accessing the forensic monitoring and autopsy reports, antemortem interviews, dental and DNA records, and the photographs of human remains and personal belongings, one can closely follow how the exhumations and the process of identifying the individuals and the cause and manner of their death were meticulously conducted. The correspondence with international organizations such as the International Commission on Missing Persons, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, as well as with various state investigation commissions, reveal that, by submitting evidentiary records of war crimes, forensic science can help in the conviction of perpetrators. In addition, there are several files that deal with the psycho-social and traumatic effects of the war in the Bosnian society.

Two videotapes deserve special attention. One is a 20-minute educational video produced by PHR on the identification procedures, meant for the wider Bosnian audience and also broadcast on the national TV. The other is a 1999 documentary titled War Kids, which is a first-hand account of the war as told through the stories of young survivors: Muslim and Serbian teenagers in and around Sarajevo.

Accruals

Expected

Conditions of Access and Use

Conditions governing access

Some of the records containing personal data and other information are restricted from access. Restrictions are specified on the series level.

Languages

Bosnian, Croatian, English

Allied Materials

Publication note

http://www.phrusa.org/cgi-bin/search_engine.cgi

Description Control

Archivist's note

Processed by Csaba Szilágyi and Niall Walsh, November 30, 2004.