Minnesota Protocol

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Minnesota Protocol: A simple guide to investigating potentially unlawful deaths

What it is
The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016 revision, published in 2017) is a set of international guidelines for forensic investigations of suspicious deaths. It focuses especially on cases where the state might be responsible, by acts or omissions. The original 1991 manual helped support UN principles on preventing and investigating extrajudicial killings. It became known as the Minnesota Protocol because of the involvement of The Advocates for Human Rights. The 2016 revision was prepared by international experts and released by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR).

Why it matters
The Protocol aims to protect the right to life by guiding proper investigations, ensuring accountability, and helping uncover the truth and provide remedies. It is regularly cited by regional and national courts and by humanitarian bodies like the ICRC.

Scope (when it applies)
- It covers all “potentially unlawful deaths,” including deaths caused by the state or in which state authorities may have failed to protect life.
- It applies when someone is in custody or detention, or when the state may have contributed to or allowed a death.
- It also covers deaths not directly caused by the state but where the state has an obligation to investigate.
- In armed conflict, it notes practical challenges but requires investigations of serious violations and post-operation fact-finding to check targeting and outcomes.
- It also applies to deaths caused by private individuals where the state still has a duty to investigate.

Core ideas (Elements and Principles of Investigations)
- Prompt, thorough, independent, and impartial, with transparency.
- The state’s duty to investigate is tied to protecting life, deterring future violations, and ensuring accountability and remedies.
- The protocol is non-prescriptive about the exact investigative mechanism. States can use different methods as long as they meet international standards.

What an investigation should do (practical focus)
- Design clear operational procedures to gather significant facts and preserve relevant material.
- Collect, analyze, and manage evidence from the death scene and other sources.
- Conduct forensic examination of locations and remains, interview witnesses, and protect victims’ families.
- Build a victim profile and create a careful chronology of events.
- Utilize international cooperation and consider digital, financial, and environmental evidence as needed.

Autopsy and ethics
- Autopsies are often essential to identify the deceased, document injuries, determine the cause of death, and understand contributing factors.
- Investigators and forensic doctors have strong ethical duties: they must serve justice, respect the deceased’s relatives, and uphold the public interest, not just the police or the state.

Relation to other guidelines
- The Minnesota Protocol is often used alongside the Istanbul Protocol, which focuses on documenting torture.
- It informs and is cited by regional courts and human rights bodies, and it has guided the ICRC in related work.

See also
- Autopsy
- Coroner
- Istanbul Protocol
- Physicians for Human Rights

Further reading
- Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016) – OHCHR
- ICRC guidelines for investigating deaths in custody
- UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and Summary Executions (1989)

This concise guide highlights the main purpose, scope, and practical steps of the Minnesota Protocol, making it easier to understand how it helps ensure fair, effective investigations into potentially unlawful deaths.