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Global Humanitarian Forensic Action: 2023 VIFM Graeme Schofield Oration

18/09/2023 | Victoria

Global Humanitarian Forensic Action: 2023 VIFM Graeme Schofield Oration

Join us for a captivating evening at the 2023 VIFM Graeme Schofield Oration , when globally recognised forensic investigator and responder, Dr Morris Tidball-Binz sheds light on the crucial role of forensic medicine and science in humanitarian efforts worldwide.

The event is named for the late Emeritus Professor Graeme Schofield, former Professor of Anatomy and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Monash University who was one of the founders of the VIFM. Professor Schofield was an eminent medical researcher and a charismatic and inspirational teacher and leader in medicine.

This event brings together experts, professionals, and enthusiasts from various fields to hear about the intersection of forensic science and humanitarian initiatives. The VIFM and Monash University aim to create awareness about the impact forensic science has in responding to complex humanitarian challenges and international injustices.

At the 2023 VIFM/Monash University Graeme Schofield Oration you will have the opportunity to learn more about the application of forensic medical and scientific investigation in the global investigation of human rights abuses and gain valuable insights from a renowned practitioner in the field. This event is relevant to legal experts, forensic practitioners, human rights students, researchers, practitioners and those who want to learn more about this field of endeavour. Dr Tidball-Binz is a physician who specializes in forensic science, human rights and humanitarian action. He contributed to the development and the worldwide use of forensic science to document torture, detention conditions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions, as well as to respond to armed conflicts and natural catastrophes. Over the past 35 years, Dr Tidball-Binz has undertaken fact-finding, technical assessment and capacity building missions in more than 70 counties, and contributed to international standard setting. In April 2021 Dr Tidball-Binz was appointed as United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

Before this he played a central role in developing the forensic activities of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the novel discipline of humanitarian forensic action. From 2004 to 2016, he helped to establish and served as the first Director of the ICRC Forensic Services. In 2017 he led a complex forensic operation to identify 122 Argentine soldiers killed in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). From 2018 until 2020 he was Forensic Manager of the ICRC’s Missing Persons Project and, before retiring from the organization in September 2020, he led the ICRC’s task force established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, to guide the management of COVID-19 fatalities worldwide.

Dr Tidball-Binz is an Adjunct Clinical Professor in Forensic Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Australia; a Visiting Professor with the Universities of Coimbra, Portugal and of Milan, Italy; and a member of the directorate of the University of Coimbra Centre for Research and Training in Forensic Science, Human Rights and Humanitarian Action.

He has directed regional and global human rights programs for Amnesty International (UK); the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (Costa Rica); Penal Reform International(UK), the International Service for Human Rights (Switzerland) and on humanitarian action for the International Committee of the Red Cross (Switzerland), having worked closely with human rights organizations around the world and with human rights special procedures of the United Nations, the Organization of American States and the African Union. He has written and supervised the drafting of multiple human rights country and thematic reports, and contributed to the drafting of international standards on human rights and humanitarian action, such as the United Nations’ Minnesota and Istanbul Protocols, and the ICRC’s Guide on the Investigation of Deaths in Custody, respectively, and has actively contributed to their promotion and implementation worldwide.

Date: Thu Nov 16 2023

Time: 18:00:00 GMT+1100 (Australian Eastern Daylight Time)

Location: Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, National Gallery of Victoria 180 St Kilda Road, Southbank, VIC 3006

At the 2023 VIFM/Monash University Graeme Schofield Oration you will have the opportunity to learn more about the application of forensic medical and scientific investigation in the global investigation of human rights abuses and gain valuable insights from a renowned practitioner in the field. This event is relevant to legal experts, forensic practitioners, human rights students, researchers, practitioners and those who want to learn more about this field of endeavour.

Mark your calendars and reserve your spot now to be part of this extraordinary gathering. We look forward to welcoming you to an evening of enlightenment, and inspiration at the VIFM Graeme Schofield Oration 2023.

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