This panel explores the interplay of traces, narratives, and policies surrounding missing or deceased migrants.
It examines the socio-political configurations and the multiple forms of knowledge that emerge in response to the missing and deceased. The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwreck off Libya, amid rising deaths on longer, riskier routes in the region and in other border zones such as the Sahara, the U.S.–Mexico border, and the Darién Gap. Most bodies are never recovered, yet the deceased and missing retain deep social significance in their communities. Where bodies are found, limited infrastructure and fragmented data hinder forensic identification. In response, relatives, advocacy groups, humanitarian and religious organizations, forensic experts, and political actors mobilize these deaths in pursuit of memory, justice, and accountability. The varied practices and forms of knowledge that emerge highlight their contested importance across local, transnational, familial, ethnic, and national communities.
This panel highlights the intersections of traces (forensic), narratives (social, political, artistic), and policies (local, regional, national, supranational) in shaping the meaning of migrant deaths. From an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective, we aim to bring together scholars, organizations, and artists to develop new approaches to the study of migrant deaths. We particularly welcome socio-anthropological perspectives, legal and policy analyses, quantitative methods, forensic analyses, as well as artistic and community-engaged approaches.
Please submit a 250-word abstract including your name, affiliation, and contact details by 23 September 2025 to Félicien de Heusch (
Standing committee: FamWeLC
Panel convenors: Félicien de Heusch, Anja Simonsen, and Gül Üret (University of Copenhagen)