How DNA identification actually works.
DNA identification is not a single test. It is a long chain — sampling, extraction, sequencing, family reference matching, statistical confirmation — and every link of that chain has to be defensible in court.
The chain, in order
- Recovery. Remains are excavated under court-supervised conditions with photographic and written record of every action.
- Sampling. Bone or tooth fragments are taken under documented chain of custody. The sample is logged before any analysis begins.
- Extraction. DNA is extracted in a clean laboratory. Cross-contamination is the single greatest risk and is controlled through lab protocols.
- Sequencing. The extracted DNA is sequenced — typically short tandem repeat (STR) profiling, sometimes mitochondrial DNA for older or degraded samples.
- Family reference. Family members provide cheek swabs through an informed-consent process, ideally led by a survivor-respecting body. No coercion. No fee.
- Matching. A statistical match is calculated, expressed as a likelihood ratio. A single match is rarely conclusive on its own — context, anthropology, and chain of custody all matter.
- Return. If identification is confirmed, the family is informed by an appropriate body — not by a press release — and remains are returned with dignity.
Why families' consent is non-negotiable
A family-reference DNA programme is, by definition, a programme that collects genetic information from people who have already suffered the loss of a loved one. Consent must be informed (they know what the sample will be used for), free (they can decline), and durable (they can withdraw). Programmes that fail this standard cause harm — they retraumatise families and undermine the credibility of the identification itself.
What DNA cannot do
- It cannot, on its own, establish the cause or manner of death — anthropology and pathology do that.
- It cannot identify a person if no family reference exists in the database.
- It cannot replace a credible accountability process. Identifying a body is not the same as adjudicating responsibility for that body being in a mass grave.
The TLTE position
The DNA pathway for Chemmani families must be opened, free of cost, with informed consent, and through bodies the families themselves trust. This is a standing demand of the OMP, OHCHR, and the family associations. TLTE endorses it. TLTE does not collect DNA, does not hold a database, and will never accept a family DNA sample on this surface.