Recommendations A/HRC/33/51/Add.1 Situation during the visit A/HRC/33/51/Add.1 Measures taken/current situation Level of implementation and observations (to be completed by the WGEID) and to the independent investigation of all alleged cases of extrajudicial killings by security and law enforcement officers. 30 ICJ There is still no policy adopted to address disappearances. There is no extrajudicial mechanism to search for those who have disappeared. 72. Ensure the proper investigation of existing burial sites, the proper preservation of the sites and the protection of the samples’ chain of custody. Paragraph 24 Ministry of Justice While the onus in collecting and securing evidence both in favor and disfavor of the suspect is on the public prosecutor, all allegations of enforced disappearances and burial sites have been taken seriously by prosecution authorities and forensic examinations where necessary have been meticulously carried out by expert teams. Turkish Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued a circular on 20 Feb 2015 reminding investigation teams of technical prerequisites for such examinations including securing of the samples' chain of custody. Truth Justice Memory Center - the Human Rights Joint Platform – Human Rights Watch Bodies of many disappeared persons remain missing and a mechanism has never been established to search the remains. According to the data of Hakikat Adalet Hafıza Merkezi (Truth Justice Memory Center), the bodies of 289 of them are still missing. Although a few exhumations were conducted on burial sites within the scope of some of the investigations into the disappearances of the 1990s, which allowed the identification of some victims, the methods used during the excavations was not in line with the principles set out in the Istanbul Protocol and the Minnesota Autopsy Protocol. The authorities failed to maintain European Commission, Turkey 2019 Report, 29 May 2019 https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/20190529-turkey-report.pdf accessed 11 February 2020. 23 A/HRC/45/13/Add.4 30 While the Working Group notes the information provided by the Ministry of Justice, it remains concerned that the enforcement of relevant legislation and the compliance with international standards in the search, storage, and DNA-led human identification of human remains is still lacking. It therefore calls on the Government of Turkey to closely consider information on burial sites collected by civil society and to take appropriate action. Furthermore, the Working Group wishes to reiterate that the application of statutory limitations to cases of enforced disappearances does not release Turkey from its obligation to search for, locate and identify disappeared person or his/her remains, including their return to the relatives, with due respect for cultural customs.