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Exhuming Norms: Examining The Influence Of International Norms On The Independent Commission For The Location Of Victims’ Remains In Northern Ireland, Tamara Kathleen Hinan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Forced disappearances are crimes against humanity that occur when individuals disappear, often occurring during a period of political conflict. During the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the conflict among Irish nationalists and British unionists between 1968 and 1998, 16 people were disappeared by Irish nationalist paramilitary forces. In 1999, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) was established to investigate the disappearances, locate the remains and return the victims to their families.

The ICLVR is not the first institution to conduct forensic human rights investigations into forced disappearances, these investigations have become the standard approach internationally. However, little …