A/HRC/16/70 Commission for the Search of Missing Persons provides for the representation of human rights non-governmental organizations through the Colombian Commission of Jurists and the Family Association of Missing Detainees. 41. It should be borne in mind that the longer it takes to establish functioning mechanisms to deal with the issue of the missing, the less likely it will be that the missing will be identified and returned to their families. 42. The institution for missing persons should work closely with the judiciary and other governmental and non-governmental entities, employing a strong coordinating mechanism. Furthermore, it should cooperate closely with a team of forensic specialists for the recovery and identification of missing persons, both alive15 and dead. 43. The said institutions need to be as depoliticized as far as possible, work in a transparent manner and include, alongside members of Government bodies, representatives of civil society and also of the families of missing persons. 44. It is essential that the above-mentioned institutions deal with the issue of missing persons on both sides of the conflict and not condition their work on the results achieved by any other side. Their mandates should make it clear that they also have responsibility – insofar as they have information or control over the relevant territory – for clarifying the fate of the missing on the other side or sides as well. In addition, the institutions need to cooperate with their counterparts. 45. When there is no cooperation between respective institutions of the parties to the armed conflict, they should consider establishing an international institution for looking into the issue of the missing, with persons on the institution acting in an individual capacity but coming from the region and chosen by the different parties to the conflict. 46. Apart from institutions for missing persons, other instruments and mechanisms could be explored when dealing with the issue of missing persons. For example, bodies such as human rights commissions and ombudsmen may be useful. Both usually have a broad mandate to address human rights violations and should therefore include missing persons within their authorities. 47. Furthermore, all justice and rule of law mechanisms, including the judiciary, parliamentary commissions or truth-finding mechanisms, are of key importance for solving the issue. Judicial process might, for instance, permit victims’ families to intervene at various stages of proceedings and exercise their right to know. Also, when tribunals are investigating the deaths of missing persons, it should be ensured that their work is conducted in a manner that serves the best interest of the families, in that the latter are provided with answers, including the identification of the deceased, and brings the persons responsible for those crimes to justice. 48. Lastly, truth and reconciliation exercises may have a role to play in clarifying events and helping communities move forward. Such exercises would undoubtedly benefit families of the missing persons waiting for answers about the fate of the missing. In its resolution 12/11, the Human Rights Council emphasized that truth-seeking processes, such as truth and reconciliation commissions, that investigate patterns of past human rights violations and their causes and consequences are important tools that can complement judicial processes and, when established, such mechanisms have to be designed within a specific societal context and to be founded on broad national consultations with the inclusion of victims and civil society, including non-governmental organizations. 15 Forensic science has proved essential for the identification and restitution of missing children to their legitimate families in Argentina. 11