ICMP began addressing missing persons issues related to disasters in 2004 following the Southeast Asian Tsunami and has since been involved in Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) efforts related to Cameroon, Canada, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Namibia, the Philippines, Thailand, Ukraine, and the United States, among other places.

In DVI, the challenge is often focused on the need to make identifications from few or distant relatives, and on the need for high-throughput extraction automation. ICMP has developed specialist techniques to extract DNA from highly degraded bone samples, including samples that have been severely burned or exposed to the elements for long periods. ICMP’s DNA Laboratories are accredited by the Dutch Accreditation Council (Raad voor Accreditatie – RvA) to the international standard EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for DNA testing in missing persons investigations. Please visit RvA’s website, or click here, for further information of ICMP’s accreditation (Registration Reference L641).

In many DVI events, multiple jurisdictions are involved, and international coordination is required for effective responses. ICMP’s technical capacity is underpinned by policy frameworks for data processing and protection, and by international partnerships enabling effective operational deployments, including partnerships with INTERPOL and domestic agencies charged with responding to disasters, such as the Netherlands Forensic Institute and others. ICMP and INTERPOL have developed a permanent “DVI Platform” to serve as a global resource for coordinating and conducting DVI operations.

ICMP’s objectives are to provide a global standing capacity to respond effectively and efficiently to large-scale, complex DVI needs; to enhance disaster response mechanisms, especially those provided by law enforcement in DVI situations, through training; to ensure cost-effective provision of DVI and greater access to DVI among countries affected by disasters; and, through the Wim Kok Center for Excellence and Learning, to provide training in DVI responses to law enforcement throughout the world.