Forward The Fellows Program in the Anthropology of Human Rights was initiated by the Committee for Human Rights (CfHR) in 2002. Positions provide recipients with strong experience in human rights work, possibilities for publication, as well as the opportunity to work closely with the Committee, government agencies, and human rights-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs). 2003 CfHR Research Fellow Erin Kimmerle is a graduate student in anthropology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Kimmerle came to the position with a strong background in the practice of anthropology in international human rights. Between 2000 and 2001 she served on the forensic team of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in its missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. In 2001 Kimmerle was made Chief Anthropologist of that team. Janet Chernela, Chair Emeritus (2001-2003) Cause of Death: The Role of Anthropology in the Enforcement of Human Rights Erin H. Kimmerle Submitted to the Human Rights Committee of the American Anthropological Association April, 2004 University of Tennessee, Department of Anthropology 250 South Stadium Hall Knoxville, TN Phone: 865-974-4408 E-mail:
[email protected] pp. 35 Keywords: Forensic anthropology, Human Rights, Forensic Science Table of Contents Introduction Background Forensic Science and Human Rights The Roles of Forensic Anthropologists Current Challenges and the Need for Future Research Summary Acknowledgments Literature Cited Introduction One perfect autumn day in 2000, I attended eleven funerals. I stood alongside Mustafa, a middle-aged man with a hardened look punctuated by the deep grooves in his solemn face. Around us people spilled out into the streets and alleys, horse drawn carts filled with the bounty of the weekly harvest of peppers, potatoes, and onions jockeyed for space on the crumpled cobblestone road.