Reuniting Families Separated by War

During the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s, thousands of children were separated from their parents. Many were forcibly taken from their families by the military, while others were lost in the chaos of combat.

International Forensic Program

IFP Staff & Advisory Council

William Haglund, PhD, Senior Consultant to IFP

William D. Haglund is a forensic anthropologist. He received his B.S. degree in Biological Science from the University of California, Irvine and his Ph.D. in Physical Anthropology from the University of Washington, Seattle. He served as Chief Medical Investigator of the King County Medical Examiner's Office, Seattle, Washington, for 14 years. In December 1995 he became the United Nations' Senior Forensic Advisor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia. For the period June-1998- 2006 he was Director of the International Forensic Program for Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) He presently serves as Sr. Forensic Consultant to the International Forensic Program for Physicians for Human Rights. His work with the United Nations and PHR have included investigation of human rights abuses, crimes against humanity and genocide. He has organized and directed forensic assessments and investigations in numerous countries, including Guatemala, Honduras, Rwanda, Somaliland, Georgia/Abkhazia, the former Yugoslavia, Cyprus, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

Haglund's numerous publications have addressed issues such as outdoor scene processing for human remains, taphonomy, and human identification. Among these are two the co-edited volumes Taphonomy: the Postmortem Fate of Human Remains and Advances in Forensic Taphonomy: Method, Theory, and Archaeological Perspectives. He is also a co-author of the Medicolegal Death Investigator Training Manual. He has been an affiliate member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Medical Examiners, is a past three-time president of the Washington State Coroner/Medical Examiner's Association, and is a fellow of the Physical Anthropology section of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Haglund teaches medical legal death investigation courses through the University of Washington Extension Program and Washington State Association of County Officials and conducts international workshops, seminars, lectures, and training programs. He serves on the Board of Directors, Institute for International Criminal Investigations (ICCI), and advisory boards of the International Journal of Transitional Justice, and University of Washington Forensic Certificate Program.

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