February 22, 2006

On March 2nd at 7:00 pm, in room 7-238 at UNBC, members of the public are invited to attend a public lecture presented by an international expert on the forensic archaeological investigations of war crimes.

Fredy Peccerelli, MSc, is the Executive Director and a founding member of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation (FAFG), and has been directly involved in the investigation of over 150 mass gravesites. Mr. Peccerelli’s presentation, Redressing the Past, Addressing the Future: The Work of the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation, will describe the use of forensic anthropology techniques in the exhumations of hidden graves.

The FAFG has been investigating, documenting and raising awareness about human rights violations, particularly the mass murders of Guatemala’s “disappeared,” that occurred during that country’s 30-year-long civil war. By October 2004, the FAFG had investigated a total of 349 grave sites and had recovered 2,982 sets of human remains.

Mr. Peccerelli has also led forensic archaeological investigations of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. In 1999, he was chosen by Time Magazine and CNN as one of the 50 “Latin American Leaders for the New Millennium.”

He will be joined by FAFG colleague Alan Robinson, a British forensic anthropologist raised in Central America. Mr. Robinson will offer a public presentation on Antemortem Trauma as an Indicator of Torture, on March 3rd at noon in room 6-211 at UNBC.

Mr. Peccerelli’s public presentation is part of a series of public lectures co-sponsored by the Anthropology, History, International Studies and Geography Programs, the College of Arts, Social and Health Sciences, and the Canadian Association for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

UNBC International Studies MA Candidate Lynn Wilson will also talk about her experience in the Canadian International Development Agency’s Canada Corps Internship program. Her presentation takes place February 23 at 7:00 pm in room 7-152 at UNBC.

Contact:
Dr. Richard Lazenby, Associate Professor Anthropology, UNBC - 250.960.6696