July 21, 2009, Lima, Peru: Three organizations working to identify the disappeared in Latin America have joined together in a regional initiative to share experiences and improve the process.

The Latin American Initiative for the Identification of “Disappeared” people (LIID or ILID in Spanish) focuses on finding a solution for the identification of the remains of thousands of people who were forcibly “disappeared” in Latin America for political reasons. 

LIID currently includes projects by three Latin American organizations that apply forensic sciences to the investigation of human rights violations: the Guatemala Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG), the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF) and the Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Team (EPAF). 

EPAF is a partner of The Advocacy Project (AP).

Genetic projects that processed large amounts of samples were effectively used to bring solace to the thousands of families of victims from the conflict in the Balkans and the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.  The LIID believes it is critical to use these scientific advances in resolving similar problems in Latin America. In addition, considering the existence of the common need in the region, the initiative will help to minimize errors and optimize human and financial resources.

In the United States, the Washington Office for Latin America (WOLA) is providing major support to LIID by helping facilitate contacts with donors and policymakers.