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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement on Iraq on 31 January 2005, Official Report, column 573, what the source is of the statement that the remains of 300,000 people had been buried in mass graves in Iraq; and what steps the Government have taken to verify these figures. [214216] Mr. Rammell: In May 2003 Human Rights Watch estimated that there were at least 290,000 people missing in Iraq and stated "the answer to their whereabouts likely lies in these graves". USAID is quoted as estimating in January this year that there are between 260 and 270 mass graves in Iraq and they estimate that between 300,000 and 400,000 people are buried in them. More recent estimates of the number of mass graves have revised the figure downward to 187. The final figure will not be known until all the graves have been completely exhumed. The figures we have used are the best estimates available to us at the moment. We are working with the authorities in Iraq and in co- ordination with the United Nations to establish a national centre for missing persons and exhumations policy in Baghdad. It will provide the forensic and social expertise to manage the sensitive task of helping reunite families with the remains of their lost relatives and provide forensic evidence to support prosecutions of those who perpetrated mass murder. We have provided training for forensic and other experts who will carry out the exhumations and we are also providing judicial, prosecutor and investigator training for the Iraq Special Tribunal tasked with bringing to justice those responsible for mass killings in Iraq. So far one gravesite in Hatra has been partially exhumed to obtain forensic evidence for prosecutions and a second exhumation is planned soon. No official humanitarian exhumations have begun partly due to poor security but also because the infrastructure has not yet been established to manage this properly. We will continue to work with the Iraqi authorities and the United Nations to establish this infrastructure so that humanitarian exhumations can start as soon as possible.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

214216; 431 c974W;431 c970W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Criminal investigation Crimes against humanity Inquiries Evidence Forensic science Homicide Iraq Prosecutions Missing persons Exhumation

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk