ABSTRACT
The present chapter outlines the main psychological effects of disappearances and resulting psychosocial needs. It provides a short overview of the origins and developments in the domain of the psychosocial contribution to forensic interventions in Latin America and takes up some of the international recommendations of best practices with particular significance for the implementation of a psychosocial approach in forensic investigations into human rights violations, in particular enforced disappearances and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The search, recovery, identification and the proper disposition of the bodies victims of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, including those who do not survive enforced and involuntary disappearances, are framed by obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law but should also be guided by the primary need to alleviate suffering and maintaining human dignity, with the victims and their families at the core. The importance of including a psychosocial perspective, including work with affected families and communities, as an integral part of planning and implementation of forensic investigations into disappearances and potentially unlawful killings, is at the core of a worldwide consensus of international experts and practitioners, which also provides guidance for their implementation.
