A/HRC/14/42 should also provide for the putting into place of necessary coordinating and information-sharing process. 103. The right of family members to know the fate of missing relatives as a result of armed conflict, including their whereabouts or, if dead, the circumstances and cause of their deaths, is provided for under both international human rights law and international humanitarian law. States and parties to an armed conflict are under an obligation to take the necessary measures to clarify the fate of the missing person and to inform the family thereof. Family members must be regularly informed about the progress and results of investigation concerning the fate or whereabouts of a missing relative. 104. While focusing on the humanitarian dimension of missing persons in armed conflict, it is also necessary to keep in mind that cases of missing persons can sometimes constitute grave offences, including war crimes. States should ensure effective investigation and prosecution of all human rights violations linked to missing persons. 105. The legal situation of persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and of their relatives should be clearly established in domestic legislation. 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. 106. States are obliged to take measures to respond to the material, financial, psychological and legal needs faced by the families of persons unaccounted for. States should adopt a gender-sensitive approach to ensuring the rights of the relatives. The right of relatives of missing persons to be granted reparation should be ensured. 107. The dead should be sought, collected and identified without distinction. They must be identified and buried in individually marked graves in sites that are identified and registered. All acts of mutilation and despoliation of the dead must be criminalized. 108. The competent State authorities are obliged to undertake all necessary measures to recover the human remains. The remains should be returned to the family, if possible. If it is not possible to return the remains, a proper burial should be ensured. 109. The exhumation of human remains constitutes part of the right to know the truth and helps establish the whereabouts of the disappeared. Exhumations should be performed only with the proper authorizations and according to the conditions specified in law. Families should be kept informed of the decisions in relation to exhumations and of the results of any such examination. After post-mortem examination, the remains should be released to the family at the earliest time possible. 110. Domestic legislation should provide for the possibility of conducting independent forensic investigations in cases of persons unaccounted for during an armed conflict. 111. Information on persons unaccounted for should be collected and processed fairly and lawfully. States should ensure respect for the relevant standards and principles with regard to the protection of personal data whenever information, including medical and genetic information, is managed and processed. 112. Of key importance for solving the issue of missing persons are all justice and rule of law mechanisms, including the local judiciary, parliamentary commissions and truth-finding mechanisms. 18 GE.10-12433