The cemetery as a legal battleground: graves, the right to memory and peacebuilding

Author: Siméon MODUMBANI LIAMBI

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Abstract

This article explores an overlooked dimension of peace and human rights studies: the management of bodies and burial sites in post-conflict contexts. Through six case studies (Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Ukraine, and Iran), it demonstrates that the fate of the dead is central to peace negotiations, sovereignty claims, and tensions between universal norms and state memorial strategies. The paper analyzes existing international legal mechanisms (such as the 2006 Convention on Enforced Disappearances and international jurisprudence), highlighting their uneven application in the face of political instrumentalization of cemeteries. It examines the role of international organizations (ICRC, UN mechanisms) and proposes the concept of « funerary diplomacy » integrating restitution of bodies, protection of burial sites, and recognition of memorial rights as a means to strengthen peace consolidation processes.

Keywords: Funerary diplomacy, Enforced disappearances, Transitional justice, Sovereignty and memory, Peace consolidation