Monash Memo - 16 May 2001

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Human rights in forensic science

World experts in legal medicine and forensic science will head to Melbourne in September for the Indo-Pacific Congress on Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences.

The Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine (Monash's Department of Forensic Medicine) and the National Institute of Forensic Science will host the event.

VIFM director Professor Stephen Cordner, also chair of forensic medicine at Monash, said the congress would focus on the issue of forensic science and human rights.

"The emphasis on human rights reflects the growing role of the forensic sciences generally on the international stage," Professor Cordner said.

Topics to be covered in the five-day conference include the role of forensic teams in investigating genocide and other crimes against humanity, the use of forensic science in police investigations, and applying forensic skills to mass fatalities.

Use and abuse of human tissue, investigating medical accidents and sexual assault investigations will also be discussed.

Delegates will also visit the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, the Monash University Accident Research Centre, the Victorian Supreme Court, and Victoria Police Detective Training School.

The congress, held every three years by the Indo-Pacific Association of Law Medicine and Science, aims to cater for practitioners in countries outside Europe and North America.

For more details about the congress, visit www.vifp.monash.edu.au/inpalms2001, or contact the Congress Secretariat on 9459 4299 or email inpalms@nifs.com.au