Slovenian war victim DNA identification initiative

Following an amendment to the Law on Hidden Military Graves, Slovenian authorities—including the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Commission for Hidden Graves—have launched an initiative to identify victims of wartime and post-war violence through DNA profiling.

Officials are calling on relatives and descendants to provide oral mucosa swabs at designated police stations to create genetic reference profiles. This process allows for the comparison of genetic data with remains recovered from hidden military graves. Sample collection is scheduled for November 17 and 19, 2026, at nine locations across the country, including Ljubljana, Koper, Celje, and Maribor.

If an identity is confirmed, families may reclaim the remains for burial in family graves; if not, the Ministry of Defense will arrange for burial at Žale in Ljubljana. The state will cover identification costs, estimated at between 1,000 and 1,200 euros per victim. The organization Nova Slovenska zaveza is hosting informational meetings to assist families with the technical aspects of the identification process.

In conjunction with these efforts, Nova Slovenska zaveza has announced a series of memorial services and prayers to honor victims of post-war massacres and revolutionary killings. Scheduled around the All Saints' Day period in late October and early November 2026, these commemorations include a mourning ceremony at the Lipica cemetery on October 30 and visits to several mass graves within the Diocese of Celje on October 31. Additional services include a mass at St. James Church in Ljubljana and a prayer service at Orlov vrh on November 8.