Strengthening Capacities for the Identification of Victims of the Viet Nam War

Joint initiative by Argentina and Viet Nam to identify the bodies of over half a million unidentified soldiers

Towards a Solution

To address the above challenge, the Argentine Fund for International Cooperation (FO.AR) supported “Capacity-building for the identification of victims of the Viet Nam War” project which aimed at the exhumation and identification of the victims of the Vietnam War by strengthening the capacities of Vietnamese counterparts in recognition of their victims. The initiative contributes to the Sustainable Development Goal 16 by promoting the development of peaceful and inclusive societies and facilitating access to justice and of better understanding the process of identifying war victims as an instance of closure and historical reparation.

Through the project, specialists from the Forensic Military Medicine Institute (IMMF) in Vietnam were trained by the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) in the handling of samples, the preparation of DNA frequency charts for laboratory genetic analysis, and regional groups (North-Centre-South) were trained in exhumation, selection and sampling techniques. This project was developed in line with the Vietnamese National Action Plan which was aimed at identifying 700 representative cases in the Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh cemeteries.

Among the main elements of joint work, the training of Vietnamese professionals for the exhumation of remains stands out; their identification through anthropology, dentistry and forensic medicine; and the genetic analysis of samples in laboratories.

Additionally, action protocols were implemented for sample collection and the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) developed a Practical Guide for the Recovery and Analysis of Bone Remains of the Victims of the War in Viet Nam, which served as a framework for the joint work between the operational and scientific levels. It is also important to highlight that the EAAF itself processed more than 40 samples in Argentina, managing to positively identify five victims of the war.

As a result of the successful joint work carried out on this project until December 2018, Viet Nam requested the project’s continuation and the further strengthening of its cooperation with Argentina on this matter. In that regard, in February 2019 a new Action Plan for the Identification of War Victims was signed with the Ministry of Labour and Invalid Persons of Viet Nam. Currently, within the framework of the Action Plan, work is being done with EAAF on the development and adaptation of training plans and protocols aimed at strengthening Vietnamese laboratories and their human resources in the identification process, with emphasis on genetic issues and database development.

Finally, this initiative aimed at strengthening capacities in forensic anthropology and identification of remains in post-conflict scenarios presents promising prospects for replication, being adaptable to different contexts, as evidenced by the multiple experiences of cooperation with countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Timor-Leste.