A/HRC/5/7 page 9 D. Right to information 39. One of the most decisive ways of ensuring the right to the truth is still the right to information. On this subject, Israel mentions its Freedom of Information Law of 1998, which establishes the right to information, in part by giving all citizens and residents the right to obtain information from the public authorities whether or not they have any personal interest in the information requested, and without having to justify their request. The Act also applies to people who are neither citizens nor residents. Exceptions are permitted in certain specific situations which include matters of public safety and questions of privacy. Refusal to satisfy the right to information can be appealed before the national courts, and the burden of proof lies with the public authorities, which must explain and justify their refusal. III. INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS AND MEASURES PROMOTING THE RIGHT TO THE TRUTH A. Truth commissions and machinery to follow up on their recommendations 40. It is becoming more and more commonplace for countries emerging from civil war or authoritarian regimes to set up a truth commission to operate during the immediate transition period. Such commissions - officially approved temporary, non-judicial investigative bodies - are given a period of time for collecting testimony, holding inquiries, mounting investigations and holding public hearings before publishing the final report. The work of a truth commission may be used in support of any subsequent prosecutions. 41. In their submissions to the Office of the High Commissioner, several countries report on commissions of this type, such as the Equity and Reconciliation Commission in Morocco and the truth and reconciliation commissions in Serbia, Chile and Paraguay. 42. Giving effect to the recommendations of truth commissions is a major challenge. Once the commissions have submitted their final reports, other bodies must carry out their recommendations. The follow-up mechanism may take the form of an official watchdog committee or a standing public authority responsible for putting the recommendations into effect. 43. In Morocco, for example, the Consultative Council on Human Rights was given the mandate of following upon the recommendations of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission. 44. Chile set up various mechanisms to follow up on the report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, notably the National Reparation and Reconciliation Corporation (Act No. 19123), reporting to the Ministry of the Interior, in 1992. Then in 1996 it instituted a programme of investigations to establish the fate of missing detainees and people whose deaths had been legally recognized but whose bodies had never been found. B. Commissions of inquiry 45. As the set of principles emphasizes, measures to guarantee the right to the truth may include “non-judicial processes that complement the role of the judiciary. Societies that have experienced heinous crimes perpetrated on a massive or systematic basis may benefit in particular from the creation of a truth commission or other commission of inquiry to establish the