A/HRC/15/26 I. Introduction 1. As indicated by the Government of Argentina in its response to the note verbale sent by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Human Rights Council aimed to achieve three main objectives in its resolutions concerning forensic genetics and human rights: (a) To recognize the importance, and promote the use, of forensic genetics as a key tool of forensic sciences in situations where there have been violations of human rights and international humanitarian law. Such recognition on the part of the international community would better promote the use of scientific advances and the encouraging results achieved at the national and regional level with a view to resolving similar situations in other parts of the world; (b) To promote enhanced cooperation between States and organizations in the use of forensic sciences in general and forensic genetics in particular in the investigation of such violations, greater international cooperation to promote exchange of information between States and organizations with relevant experience in this area which would facilitate identification and help locate victims’ relatives who have moved away from their places of origin and need to be contacted; (c) To promote the development of international standards on the use of forensic genetics. The existence of a model protocol or internationally approved manual would ensure that national genetic databanks apply methodologies that are accepted by the scientific community and that they abide by those legal principles that are essential for ensuring the non-partisan nature of their work and the protection and confidentiality of the data and outcome information, and for restricting access thereto. II. The use of forensic experts in cases of gross violations of human rights 2. Forensic science is concerned with establishing facts, obtained through scientific means, which will be introduced as part of a criminal investigation as evidence in court, most commonly for the purpose of prosecuting crimes. It is also used, inter alia, to identify missing persons as a result of human rights violations or from multiple fatalities resulting from natural disasters. Forensic science is, therefore, one of the enabling tools to ensure the full implementation of the rule of law, and as such it needs to conform to the rule of law itself. 3. In a national context the application of forensic science is regulated by legislation and detailed domestic legal frameworks or domestically accepted practices that seek to ensure such conformity. At the international level, however, the rules and acceptable practices are often less clear, sometimes contradictory, or even absent altogether. That situation is rapidly changing due to an ever-increasing reliance on forensic methods and techniques, both domestically and across national borders. A. Examples of national practices on the use of forensic experts in cases of gross violations of human rights 4. In Argentina for example, the Office of the Secretary for Human Rights of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights has created the “Register of unidentified skeletal remains of disappeared detainees”. The purpose of the initiative is to put together 4