A/HRC/5/7 page 16 79. Finally, the Inter-American Court stresses that, while the establishment of truth commissions is an important means of seeking and establishing the truth, the “historical truth” which commissions establish “does not substitute the State’s obligation to also establish the truth through judicial proceedings”.15 C. Mercosur 80. In the framework of Mercosur (the Common Market of the Southern Cone), the question of the right to truth was discussed at the sixth meeting of Mercosur high-level human-rights authorities and foreign ministries (5 and 6 December 2006). After that meeting, the States members of Mercosur and of the “Somos Mercosur” programme adopted a declaration, at the Mercosur Social Summit held on 14 December 2006, highlighting “the importance of guaranteeing the right to truth and to memory”. V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 81. The right to know the truth about gross human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law is recognized in some international treaties and instruments, in the national legislation of several countries, in national, regional and international jurisprudence and by many international and regional intergovernmental organizations. 82. The right to the truth presupposes the disclosure of the whole and complete truth about the events that occurred, the specific circumstances attending them and the individuals involved, including the circumstances in which the violations were committed and the reasons for their commission. 83. While the right to the truth is an individual right of victims and their families, it also has a collective and a societal dimension. At that level, the right to the truth is closely linked to the rule of law and the principles of transparency, accountability and good governance in a democratic society. Together with justice, memory and reparation, it constitutes one of the mainstays of action to combat impunity for grave human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law. 84. The question of the right to the truth is a complex one, because this right is closely linked to several obligations of States, particularly those of protecting and guaranteeing human rights, effectively investigating gross human rights violations and serious violations of humanitarian law and guaranteeing adequate remedies and reparation for victims and their families. 85. Although the right to the truth is an autonomous right, it is closely linked to other human rights such as the right to an effective remedy; the right to the protection of the law and the courts; the right to a family life; the right to an effective investigation; the right to a hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal; the right to obtain 15 Judgement of 29 November 2006, La Cantura v. Peru.