A/HRC/14/42 adopted in order to guarantee the right to the truth, such as effective tracing activities, conducting investigations of cases, developing appropriate forensic expertise, treating the mortal remains with dignity and respect and ensuring adequate management of information.12 55. In the light of the above, a delicate balance needs to be struck between putting into place effective means of collecting relevant information on missing persons and generally recognizing the importance of prosecuting war crimes. As observed by La Rosa and Crettol in “The missing and Transitional Justice: the right to know and the fight against impunity”, “such mechanisms would need … to generate greater incentives for those with information on the fate of the missing to speak out, rather than to remain silent and be an obstacle to the fight against impunity”.13 56. The political and legal challenge then is how to strengthen the political will of conflict parties to cooperate in sharing information on missing persons, without however neglecting the human rights dimension of such cooperation. Here, clearly, international organizations and other relevant actors must take a proactive role. VIII. Legal status of missing persons and support for the families of persons unaccounted for 57. The issue of persons going missing has consequences not only for the victims themselves, but also for their families, especially dependent women, elderly persons and children, who prove to be more vulnerable in such situations. States are obliged to take measures to respond to the material, financial, psychological and legal needs faced by the families of persons unaccounted for. In this context, a mechanism for needs assessment and processing of requests for assistance should be established, to which the persons concerned would have ready access. 58. First and foremost, the legal situation of persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and their relatives should be established in domestic legislation. Specifically, the law should envisage circumstances and the procedure by which a person can be declared absent or missing. Furthermore, legal consequences of a declaration of absence and a declaration of death, including in terms of property administration, guardianship and parental authority, should be clearly prescribed in law. 59. The main principle is that the rights and interests of missing persons, including their civil status, property and assets, must be protected at all times until their fate has been ascertained or their death recognized. The interests of missing persons should be adequately protected through designation of an appropriate representative. 60. Missing persons should be presumed to be alive until their fate has been ascertained. The foremost right of a missing person is that of search and recovery. A person should not be declared dead without sufficient supporting evidence. The death of a missing person may be determined through the discovery of human remains or presumed as a result of other evidence, events or certain defined situations, or may be presumed after the passage of time. Issuance of a death certificate should have all of the effects to a missing person as it does with regard to any other person. 12 13 12 See United Nations Human Rights Council, summary of the panel discussion on the question of missing persons, document A/HRC/10/10. ICRC, 2006, vol. 88, No. 862, pp. 355–362, p. 360. GE.10-12433