Forensic Medical Service and the National System of DNA Registration
The Forensic Medical Service operates under the Ministry of Justice and plays an essential role in establishing the identity of disappeared persons and possible causes of death. The Service maintains cooperation with accredited foreign institutions that provide it with support in the analysis of human remains. It developed the National DNA Registry System established on the basis of genetic fingerprints obtained during a criminal investigation. It includes the Registry of Disappeared Persons and Their Relatives, listing all missing persons, including those who may have been disappeared. The Registry of Disappeared Persons and Their Relatives contains the genetic fingerprints of corpses or unidentified human remains, and biological material presumed to belong to missing individuals or belonging to relatives of missing persons who have voluntarily agreed to donate a sample that may be useful for identification.Treatment
In 2013, the UN WGEID undertook a country visit to Chile. In its follow up report to the visit, it noted that it was impressed with the work and development of the Forensic Medical Service despite difficulties related to, among others, cover-up actions undertaken during the dictatorship. With regard to the DNA system, the UN WGEID noted that the Service had taken blood samples from 3,470 families representing 978 victims. Cooperation had been established with the relatives of victims of enforced disappearance but there remained still dozens of victims of enforced disappearance for whom there are no matching blood samples from relatives to facilitate identification in the future. It stressed the importance of continuing the exhumation and identification of victims of enforced disappearance. It further found that this required a comprehensive State policy, with full institutional, political and financial support from the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Full cooperation and coordination was also identified as being essential, both at the intersectoral level and between agencies, as well as between these agencies and the relatives and associations of relatives.
In its 2019 review of the State’s compliance with the Convention, the UN CED recognised the efforts made by the State to search for persons disappeared during the dictatorship and the challenges the State faced in undertaking this effort. It expressed concern about the limited number of victims of enforced disappearance from the dictatorship who have been located to date. It called on the State to ensure efficient coordination, cooperation and cross-referencing of data between agencies responsible for investigating enforced disappearances, searching for missing persons and identifying their remains in case of death. It also called on the State to ensure the agencies responsible for the search for missing persons had the financial and technical resources and qualified staff necessary to conduct their work promptly and effectively and that all search efforts involve the relatives.