A/HRC/15/26 culture, have often lived through similar experiences, and often have a strong commitment to improving the human rights situation and the rule of law in their own countries. 17. The Colombian Government additionally recommended that the following points be taken into account in all processes intended to identify victims of human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law: (a) Investigations should be comprehensive in the sense that they should not only focus on the reliable identification of corpses but also on the circumstances that led to those persons’ deaths; (b) Teams of highly trained specialist investigators should be able to work under stable conditions alongside specialists in other disciplines; (c) The information generated in the course of different operations should be handled in a coordinated manner to enable case monitoring, consultation and crossreferencing of the data, and consequently better handling of investigations, especially when there are overlaps between similar investigations. This can be achieved using a single software programme for all offices operating in all parts of the country, with restricted access rights and correspondingly enhanced security; (d) Reliable identification processes should be handled in a coordinated manner with the involvement of an interdisciplinary team made up of, inter alia, pathologists, forensic medical specialists, radiologists, anthropologists, odontologists, fingerprint experts, photographers, morphologists and forensic geneticists, thereby enhancing the efficiency of the decision-making process regarding the types of analyses to be carried out, depending on the investigation, the background to the investigation and the discoveries made, until a reliable identification can be finalized; (e) Proper handling of samples for genetic testing must be ensured from the moment they are collected from the scene. For this purpose: (i) All of the sampling processes must be fully documented, with clear and detailed instructions for the persons responsible for such activities, unified records covering the entire country must be kept, and sampling kits made available; (ii) A single coding system should be used for all samples; (iii) Relatives of the victims should be interviewed to obtain all necessary information on the whereabouts and availability of their closest blood relatives for the purpose of finding genetic matches or obtaining information on other sample types, such as personal belongings, biopsies and biological tissue samples that can be recovered and used to identify victims; (iv) There should be a documented procedure for collecting samples from victims’ relatives, including kits comprising all the materials required for this purpose, namely instructions both for sampling staff and for relatives written in clear, concise and factual language, explaining what genetic analysis involves, what the possible results are, where to go for information or advice, and how to complete informed consent forms to comply with bioethics standards; (v) Information systematization tools should be provided to ensure better tracking of samples, procedures and results in all participating laboratories; (vi) Information should be made available on key discoveries and exhumations, including information on the number of bodies recovered, the type of grave (primary or secondary), any soil characteristics that might affect the outcome of the genetic analysis, and the general condition of the remains recovered, as well as an indication 7