Disclosing the truth: informed participation in the Antemortem Database Project for Survivors of Srebrenica

This article describes a human rights investigation designed to identify bodies exhumed from mass graves in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina and the psychological impact of participation on family members, most of whom believed the disappeared could still be alive. A community education intervention, conducted in both group and individual settings, was effective in helping families make an informed decision about participation. For informed participants, the psychological benefits outweighed any deleterious effects. The article concludes that fully disclosing the truth to potential participants, providing culturally and temporally sensitive psychosocial preparation, and securing informed consent are basic ethical and human rights principles that must be upheld at all times. Further studies are necessary to measure the impact of human rights activities of this nature on the survivor participants and implementers alike.