Citizen Led Forensics: DNA & data-banking as technologies of disruption-a novel way to learn and intervene in the search for the disappeared in Mexico

Governmental institutions in Mexico have officially recognised 121,683 violent deaths in the period between 2006- 2013. During the same period around 27,000 disappearances occurred, and approximately 15,000 bodies remain unidentified, as there are no national databases in the country. In Mexico, distrust in governmental authorities is the norm, since the practice of forensic science has been opaque, and has sometimes been used to cover the tracks of the perpetrators of grave crimes. The inimical response of the government to this humanitarian crisis, has repeatedly shown that the problem is not one that can simply be solved by the construction or strengthening of forensic technical capacities, but rather the absence of due investigation and diligence that is related to the existing ties between public institutions and organised crime, as well as other normalised practices of corruption.

Our project will explore new forms of citizenship related to the use of forensic science in the search for the missing in Mexico, and will also provide invaluable insights into the disruptive dimensions of Forensic Science and DNA profiling. Through Participatory Action Research (PAR), we wish to explore what would happen if forensic techniques (including DNA) were to be placed in the hands of the relatives of the disappeared, or in non-governmental forensic experts, and/or in interested citizens in Mexico. The project aims to create the first citizen-led Forensic DNA database as a way of positively intervening in the humanitarian crisis currently lived in Mexico.The citizen-led Forensic database will be designed as a mobile and PAR device, articulated through civil society organisations of relatives of the disappeared, already partnered with the project. The project will make DNA swab kits available for 1,500 people (approx. 500 Mexican families), accompanied by a clear set of instructions on how to collect DNA from cheek swabbing, as well as from the personal belongings of the missing person. In the same DNA Kit we would ask the participating families to include written accounts of their case, their experience with forensic investigations (if any), and personal narratives of what they have gone through since their relative(s) disappeared.

Academic literature, mostly centred in EU and the US, solely links the use of forensic databases with state surveillance and issues of privacy. In this project we aim to move the debate beyond these common tropes to explore how citizen-led forensic databases can become a tool for reparation and truth finding. Our project breaks with traditional (state-centric) ways of researching about violence and disappearance, since it surpasses the boundaries between victims' claims for justice and the experts in charge of providing 'truth' about the missing. It is also innovative as it brings together biogenetic and social research; thus providing a tool to open novel avenues of academic inquiry, as well as grounded insights for humanitarian and political intervention. Regardless if our citizen-led forensic project succeeds or fails, our research has the potential to have a truly transformative and global impact, considering the fact that we can help to provide new pathways for forensic research and intervention, in the mass atrocities of today and of the future.

Local and international non-governmental organisations constituted by relatives of the disappeared in Latin America will certainly be interested in our research. Our activities will be of relevance for all those agencies and groups that are interested in aiding and understanding the scientific and social processes of forensic identification in post-disaster and complex violence scenarios.
These users will benefit from our activities in two ways: first, through engagement in our meetings and workshops, where their views and concerns will be constantly included in an ongoing research design and execution. Second, through the bilingual (English/Spanish) project web pages that will include summaries of our research findings, useful links and debate forums on the progress of the citizen-led DNA database. This information could be used to address questions of forensic interest in the search for truth and justice, as well as informative resources for relevant policymakers. The various NGOs collaborating with our research efforts, such as NAR (Nuestra Aparente Rendición), which tracks the death toll in Mexico, and organisations of relatives of the disappeared such as Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa, FUNDEM, FUUNDEC, NAR, CADHAC,and Movimento por la Justicia y Dignidad, will be directly involved and benefitted by the citizen-led forensic database and the research project. The PI has already secured agreements for cooperating with a number of NGOs dealing with the question of violence and disappearance in Mexico, in order to build the citizen-led biobank for victim identification.
Governments and international specialist agencies such as the International Commission of Missing Persons (ICMP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Europe-Aid, US-Aid, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, will also benefit from our independent exploration of forensic science, the experiment to create a citizen-led DNA and case database, as well as its impact on the delivery of truth and reparation for the victims of violence.
The media (especially science-oriented media), that have a direct interest in educating and exploring the public impact of science in the identification of victims, are likely to be interested in our research findings. The same applies to forensic investigators (e.g. Mexican Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences), who have interests in links between genetics law and the public. Our aim in communicating with these target audiences is to raise the profile of the project and to feed into debates about how forensic science might relate to notions of reparation and truth finding regarding the identification of missing persons. We seek to raise awareness of the ways science can shape ideas about these matters and to serve as an observatory of scientific, legal and forensic practice in victim identification and nation building processes in Mexico and Colombia.
Our strategy to assure that we can make the most of our project, is to create a free access executive summary of our main findings to be distributed in social networks, policy making institutes and in our bilingual webpage through electronic means. In addition, a wide variety of people will be invited to these open sessions, press releases will also be prepared prior to the workshops and, whenever possible, team members will seek to publish brief pieces, interviews, etc. in local media outlets. We plan to design a specific section of our project website in which key documents that contain useful and theoretical information will be available; for example, summaries of findings, discussions of relevant themes, useful resources and links, etc.The strategic direction of impact is the responsibility of the PI and the COI, but the project workshops, planning meetings, and executive summaries will also be facilitated by the hired Staff in the local contexts.