Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, section D, 'protection of the remains of the victims of unlawful killings'

In the present report, the first submitted by the incoming mandate holder, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Morris TidballBinz, outlines the vision that will drive the implementation of his mandate, together with the main thematic and strategic priorities, areas of focus and research that he intends to pursue during his tenure. (...)
Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions are a violation of the right to life,to which the bodies of the executed are testament. As such, the international community has a responsibility to protect and safeguard human remains. The protection of the bodies of victims of unlawful killings is important in establishing accountability and in allowing families and societies to heal. Safeguarding human remains is also important in preventing the phenomenon of missing persons and in combating enforced and involuntary disappearances. Building on the work of his predecessors, and prompted by the 2020 thematic report on the protection of mas sgraves (A/75/384), the Special Rapporteur plans to further explore the topic of the protection of the bodies of the victims of unlawful killings.