Somaliland was a part of the former Republic of Somalia. For 21 years until his fall, the regime of Mohammed Siad Barre carried out massacres against the people of Somaliland. About 60,000 civilians were killed, thousands were victims of enforced disappearance, and 500,000 individuals were displaced before the declaration of independence, in 1991.

Since its independence, Somaliland has managed to secure the political stability, economic and social development needed to investigate the atrocities committed in the past, through a War Crimes Investigation Commission (WCIC) of 6 members. The forensic Field School in Hargeisa will help to determine the universe of missing people through a systematic approach, ante mortem data collection and research of mass and clandestine graves.

Also, the Field School will assist in training the staff of the WCIC in forensic investigation of human rights violations. At the completion of the course, the participants will have an understanding of the application of forensic sciences to the investigation of Human Rights violations, as well as the process involved in the examination, recovery and analysis of mass graves and their contents.

Note 1: Given the success of our first Field School 2014 held in February-March 2014, the EPAF is convening a Field School II 2014, to be held between November 5 and December 5, 2014.

Note 2: The application period has been extended until September 15th, 2014.

Note 3: Thanks to an agreement between the EPAF and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) of Canada, students at Somaliland Field School whom wish can receive academic credits. The terms and conditions can be seen in http://explearn.gis.unbc.ca/field-school-credits/

To register for the Field School, you need the application form; please write an e-mail to fieldschool@epafperu.org