Information session with specialists from the forensic medicine department of the International Committee of the Red Cross

An information session was held at OSUIA with the participation of specialists from the forensic department of the International Committee of the Red Cross – Niamh Smith and Borys Shchabelskyi. The topic of the event was «Fingerprint examination during martial law».

Borys Shchabelskyi, Senior Assistant in the ICRC's Forensic Medicine Department, spoke about humanitarian forensic medicine, obligations towards the deceased under international humanitarian law, as well as forensic consultations, operational support, and the process of repatriating the bodies of deceased military personnel.

ICRC specialist Niamh Smith shared her experience of participating in the search and identification of bodies during mass fatalities, in particular as a result of the tsunami in Thailand. She emphasized the importance of interagency cooperation, compliance with international identification standards, and structural management of the process of managing the deceased.

The event was useful for higher education students, who gained practical knowledge about international standards of forensic identification and ethical principles of work in conditions of military operations and crisis situations.