Croatian contributions to the first systematic DNA-based large scale identification of mass graves war victims

Abstract

The large-scale DNA identification of war victims emerged in the early 1990s as a response to unprecedented forensic challenges posed by mass graves and highly degraded human remains in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This editorial revisits the origins and long-term impact of one of the earliest systematic applications of DNA-based identification, which started between 1993 and 1994 at the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, University Hospital of Split. Through the integration of classical forensic methods with early PCR-based DNA typing and the establishment of a kinship reference database, Croatian scientists, in collaboration with leading American experts, developed a methodological framework capable of resolving complex mass-fatality cases under wartime conditions. This work was formally recognized in 1995 before the United States Congress, providing rare institutional validation of a forensic program operating outside established Western infrastructures. Over the following three decades, the approaches developed in this context evolved into standardized forensic practice that incorporate STR analysis, mitochondrial DNA, and, forensic genomics. Their application has extended far beyond the regional context and has contributed to global approach to disaster victim identification and post-conflict recovery. The Croatian experience thus represents a foundational moment in the transition of DNA analysis from isolated forensic use to a systematic, large-scale tool for human identification, with enduring scientific, institutional, and humanitarian implications.