21 January 2023, London (UK):  ETAF Director Sven Benthaus attended the Royal Society of Medicine event on Disaster Victim Identification. A variety of forensic medical experts and police officers demonstrated their standard operational procedures for identifying disaster victims. Tracy Alexander (Police) reported on the repatriation of British citizens and servicemen killed in the Ukraine conflict. Once again, the absolute necessity of international cooperation in this context was emphasised. Joint international training is the key to success.

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.

20-21 November 2022, Krakow (Poland):  Delegations from the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Health and of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) meet with ETAF’s Ukraine Steering Group ( https://www.etaf-dvi.org/ukraine-steering-group ) to list and explain the needs of their forensic services, both in terms of material support and training. A member of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) and a representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine participate in the meeting. The list of participants can be found here ( link ). On the basis of the needs assessment, ETAF will prepare a detailed project proposal for formal adoption between it and the above-mentioned Ukrainian authorities, to be submitted to potential donors. The Ukrainian side insists on the urgency of the matter and the scope of the problem, given the very high and ever-increasing number of human remains and potential war crime scenes to be dealt with by their services.

03-07 October 2022, Miskolc (Hungary): ETAF organizes a Pilot Training Session with senior Ukrainian forensic experts from the Ministry of Justice (Kyiv Scientific Institute of Forensic Expertise) and the Ministry of Health. The meeting is hosted by the Hungarian Police. It is a follow-up to a high-level meeting held in Geneva on 04 August where international and ETAF officials discussed the possibility of a project called “Joint Forensic Support to Ukraine”. The meeting in Miskolc provides the Ukrainian experts with an idea of the quality and the diversity of ETAF’s training offer. In a document entitled Results of pilot training session for forensic professionals. ETAF sets out the basic parameters of a comprehensive international support program for the strengthening of the capacities of the Ukrainian forensic authorities and proposes the next steps in this direction.

27 September 2022, Geneva (Switzerland): ETAF is invited to a virtual side event organized in the margins of the 51 st session of United Nations Human Rights Council to discuss the means of ensuring accountability for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The event is organized by the Public International Law & Policy Group in partnership with the Permanent Mission of Ukraine in Geneva and co-sponsored by 42 members of the Group of Friends of Accountability Following the Aggression Against Ukraine. It features contributions by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, high-level officials from Ukraine, and prominent experts in the field of international law. Event Recording

24 August 2022, The Hague (Netherlands): ICMP Director Andreas Kleiser (Director of Policy) and Emily Luise Hudson (Capacity Building ) discuss with ETAF the idea of Joint Forensic Support to Ukraine and agree on the participation of ICMP in a pilot training to be organized by ETAF for forensic experts from Ukraine. 

4 August 2022, Geneva (Switzerland): ETAF welcomes high-ranking representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Commission on Mission Persons (ICMP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine to a round table discussion on the possibilities for the harmonization of forensic data collection in Ukraine. The meeting is held at the Geneva Academy for International Human Law and Human Rights. The setting up of a "Joint Forensic Support Team" for Ukraine under the umbrella of ETAF is contemplated.

27 June 2022, KYIV (Ukraine): An ETAF field team, composed of Sven Benthaus and Rosario Guerra visited Kyiv, Boutcha, Iprin and Borodyanka and received explanations of Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health on their forensic work.