09 January 2023, Kyiv (Ukraine) and Neuss (Germany): 



The project called “Joint Forensic Support to Ukraine” is now finalized between the Ministries of Justice and Health and the Security Service of Ukraine and ETAF. This comprehensive and ambitious project aims at putting the Ukrainian forensic services in a position to cope with the immense workload which the war has suddenly put on them. 

In relation with the ongoing war, the work of the forensic services – and, thus, the project - serves two purposes. The humanitarian purpose is to inform relatives of civil and military victims of the fate of their beloved ones, without mistake and as rapidly as can be. The rule of law purpose is to document any crimes committed to standards that can be used before existing or future courts.

The parties underline that the beneficiaries of the project are the relatives of both Ukrainian and Russian victims of the war, with no discrimination. This has been firmly agreed between them.

The “Joint Forensic Support to Ukraine” project has four components: (1) standardizing throughout Ukraine and its various forensic services the scientific protocol(s) to be used and making sure a unique file numbering system is in place and properly used in all circumstances, (2) delivery of modern equipment and training on its use, (3) peer-to-peer training (and training of trainers) on state-of-the-art Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) work in line with agreed protocols and other best practices and (4) provision of on-going advice and support in response to ad hoc demands through a sort of hotline.

The preparation of the “Joint Forensic Support to Ukraine” project has involved at different stages representatives of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada), the United National Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) and the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG). 

ETAF is now actively searching for funding of this multi-million project with the aim to start implementation at the latest by mid-2023.

The Ukrainian authorities will take care of all import and customs formalities for equipment that will be donated to them under the project, as well as of transportation from the Ukrainian borders to the locations where it will be deployed.

The detailed project can be obtained from ETAF.