The seminars will cover exhumation procedures, the collection of ante-mortem data and other subjects relating to the identification of mortal remains.

"Under international humanitarian law, the authorities bear primary responsibility for determining what happened to people who went missing in connection with armed conflict," said Mary Werntz, head of the ICRC delegation in Nepal. "To provide accurate information they need to be able to draw on considerable forensic expertise."

"Many families are anxiously waiting to find out what happened to their missing loved ones. While it is not clear how many bodies still have to be identified now that the 10-year conflict in Nepal has ended, the need to develop appropriate skills of identification is plain. We are here to provide the skills," said Dr Ute Hofmeister, an ICRC forensic expert.

Both seminars will be conducted by Dr Hofmeister and fellow ICRC expert Dr Oran Finegan. The 16 participants include government officials, police officers and members of the National Human Rights Commission.

Like the programmes conducted by the ICRC in Nepal on war surgery, first aid, infection prevention and management of dead bodies, the two seminars, in accordance with the ICRC's mandate, aim at alleviating the suffering arising from armed conflict and other violence.