P200 – Pro-Búsqueda and the Long-term Use of DNA for Family Reunification in El Salvador

11:13

Thursday August 20^th

Station 08

Duration: 12 minutes

03. Human identification

Patricia Vasquez

Operating as a civil society organization, Pro-Búsqueda leads decades-long efforts to locate and reunify children who were forcibly disappeared during El Salvador’s civil war (1980–1992). For more than thirty years, Pro-Búsqueda has investigated family separation cases and facilitated reunifications. DNA analysis plays a central role in these efforts, complementing archival research, witness testimony, and field investigations. Pro-Búsqueda has used short tandem repeat profiling to support kinship analysis in about 1,000 profiles of biological relatives seeking disappeared children and 400 disappeared children. DNA results are interpreted alongside case histories, documentation, and testimonies to determine biological and familial relationships. As of March 2026, the Pro-Búsqueda efforts have located 450 disappeared children, including for one of our co-authors. The organization’s family-centered approach to reunification demonstrates that DNA analysis must be embedded within trauma-informed practices. The organization engages families beyond sample collection and result disclosure to include psychosocial support, trust-building, and careful management of expectations. Reunification is not a single outcome based on a genetic connection, but a process that unfolds over time, shaped by the emotional, social, and cultural contexts of affected families. Over these three decades, Pro-Búsqueda also operates within shifting political and legal environments. Changes in government, legal frameworks, and institutional partnerships require continuous adaptation in how cases are investigated, how DNA is collected and managed, and how data and results are used. Maintaining continuity in casework and data stewardship depends on institutional stability, as well as flexibility in responding to evolving regulatory and political conditions. To support long-term sustainability, Pro-Búsqueda, facilitated by DNA Bridge, initiated collaboration in 2025 with the International Commission on Missing Persons to transition DNA data management to a system that supports secure, long-term stewardship. This transition represents a critical step toward ensuring continuity of data across generations and political contexts. Pro-Búsqueda’s experience offers practical lessons for other long-term family separation contexts, where sustained, adaptable systems are required to support reunification over time.

Authors

Patricia Vásquez (Pro-Búsqueda, El Salvador)
Elizabeth Barnert (University of California, Los Angeles, United States of America)
Jana Woodiwiss (University of Georgia, United States of America)
Andreas Kleiser (International Commission on Missing Persons, Netherlands)
Sara Huston (DNA Bridge, United States of America)

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P200 – Pro-Búsqueda and the Long-term Use of DNA for Family Reunification in El Salvador

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