Bartlomiej Wojtowicz / EPA
Local police already carry the high -tech DNA kits, which promise to accelerate the reunion of families separated by war.
It is an urgent and complex question in the eyes of the UN, which now tries to use technology in response to help gather separate families during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The new United Nations Development Program bet (UNDP) goes through Ukraine devices capable of tracing a DNA full profile of a person in just about an hour and a half And thus establish genetic relationships between family members in minutes, not months as before.
Technology is being used mostly in search of missing persons and to gather children with their parents. So far, the National Police have received 50 type A chips, used in the analysis of samples of human cheeks, and 200 type I chips, used in the analysis of a wide range of forensic samples, including saliva, blood and other fluids Body. 50 thousand devices were also received for the selection and storage of samples of biological material.
Take the children back home
The project funded by the Netherlands is equipping the Ukraine National Police with 250 chips for portable analysis laboratories, as well as cotton swabs and devices for sample collection and storage.
After the invasion of Russia in February 2022, Many Ukrainian children were separated from their families. Its reunification requires the use of DNA identification techniques in prior trial investigations.
The UNDP representative in Ukraine emphasized the importance of reinforcing systems and institutions of justice in war times. For Jaco Cilliers, improving technological abilities and national police forensic infrastructure serves not only to reconnect families, but also to build “resilient institutions that can deal with war challenges”.
Support in the Investigation of War Crimes
The Dutch ambassador in Ukraine, Alle Dorhout, said that “for the Netherlands, fighting the deportation of children is a priority” and explained that the project “has several layers, allowing not only the identification of families of children forcibly, but also investigation of Crimes of War”.
“Establishing DNA profiles is extremely important, since the Russians have taken children out of orphanage and destroyed their documents,” said Ukraine National Police Research Department, Artem Shevchishen, who underlines the only test of Family ties, in many cases, is the profile of DNA.
“The abduction of Ukrainian children in Russia is one of the worst war crimes we can imagine“The secretary general of Nato Mark Rutte said at the prime minister of the Netherlands in 2024.
Modern technologies can help gather evidence of war crimes, particularly in relation to the deportation of children, who can “be used in national and international courts, including the International Criminal Court,” he says.
