No Anonymous Crosses the Styx: The Right to Identification of the Unidentified Dead Migrant According to International Law Principles

Wilma Duijst*, Dunya Gezgin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Every year a significant number of migrants die on the Mediterranean Sea as a result of drowning due to dangerous transportation methods to cross the sea. Many of those migrants remain unidentified because of a
lack of ante mortem information. In this research international legal and literary sources were assessed to analyse the existence of a right to identification for drowned migrants. The analysed international law principles and the rationale of those legal rules, reflect the implicit existence of a right to identification. This
right to identification exists from a twofold perspective. Namely, from the perspective of the deceased and from the perspective of the surviving relatives. These rights to identification, following from the right to have a name, the right to life and the right to truth can only be invoked if states are willing to take their responsibility.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)7-11
JournalInternational Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Studies
Volume8
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2021

Keywords

  • the right to identification
  • ante mortem information
  • drowned migrants
  • the right to have a name

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