A/HRC/42/40/Add.2 Group recommends that families on both sides of the contact line be informed about the fate of their disappeared relatives and whether they are on the lists of detainees to be simultaneously released. 40. It is very important that all existing information concerning the whereabouts of the persons be shared among the parties, on a humanitarian basis. Even if more difficult while the conflict persists, all possible efforts must be made so that information available in the archives in the State institutions are made available to those in charge of the search for disappeared persons. 41. The experts also regretted the fact that, in May 2018, an attempt by relatives of disappeared persons from both sides to meet in order to join forces in trying to locate their loved ones was frustrated by the SBU, which prevented them from crossing the contact line. Such initiatives should be facilitated and supported rather than discouraged and obstructed.9 42. The Working Group received information on the existence of unidentified graves on both sides of the contact line. While some bodies had been exhumed, identified and handed over to the families, others had not been yet exhumed or secured. It is of utmost importance that exhumation and identification be conducted as soon as possible, with the help of international organizations, and guaranteeing internationally recognized standards, including respect for victims, their cultural traditions and religious beliefs. The Working Group also received information that there was no centralized system of data collection on burial sites or centralized collection of DNA samples; it is therefore concerned about the reported misidentification of remains. 43. The Working Group hopes that the new Law “On the Legal Status of Missing Persons” will provide an impetus and clear structure for the efforts to account and to search for missing persons, for the identification and preservation of graves, and for the exhumation and identification of the remains of missing persons. Indeed, the law provides that any person has the right to know the fate of his/her missing relatives, including their whereabouts, circumstances of death, if he/she lost his/her life, place of burial and the right to receive their remains. Regrettably, however, the Working Group has noted that the obligations of the Commission depend on whether it is dealing with the case of a person missing in “special circumstances”, on the one hand, or a person missing and that does not fall into that category, on the other; furthermore, the rationale behind a number of provisions describing the Commission’s powers and functions is unclear. 44. In particular, the Commission has been given the power to create, in cooperation with other State institutions, and to manage search groups (humanitarian missions) to locate those who went missing in “special circumstances” specifically in the territory controlled by armed groups. Its role in searching for other missing persons is, however, less defined. It seems that the national police are responsible, although the Commission has a power to “collect and manage the information necessary for the search for missing persons”, that is, all missing persons. The purpose of this function is ambiguous, given that information about persons missing outside of “special circumstances” cannot be entered into the Unified Register of Persons Missing due to Special Circumstances, which the Commission is assigned to manage. It seems that the only way for cases of persons who disappeared under circumstances other than special ones to be registered, and thus for such disappearances to become accounted for, is to lodge a complaint with the national police. Assuming that a decision is taken to initiate pretrial investigations, information indicating that an enforced disappearance occurred will be entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations, and the search for forcibly disappeared persons will be conducted as a part of the criminal investigation. Additionally, is not clear how information and evidence that could serve to initiate or substantiate a criminal proceeding would be shared between the Commission, the national police and the judiciary,. Lastly, the Commission’s role in investigating and preserving burial sites, and in exhumations and the identification of remains is also unclear; the Working Group notes, however, that article 22 (1) of the aw provides for the adoption of special legislation in this regard. 9 10 See Convention, art. 24.7.