A/HRC/16/70 83. International humanitarian law prohibits the despoliation and mutilation of the dead. All acts of mutilation and despoliation must be criminalized. The fact that intentional mutilation may also be an element of concealing separate criminal offences that resulted in the deaths must be borne in mind. Moreover, the act of mutilating or despoiling the dead may constitute the war crime of committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating or degrading treatment, as identified in articles 8(2)(b)(xxi) and 8(2)(c)(ii) of the Statute of the International Criminal Court for both types of armed conflict. 84. Criminal sanctions should also be established for the non-respect of burial sites and the desecration of graves. 85. For a family of missing persons, the return of the body for burial is essential for the mourning process and an important step towards obtaining justice. If it is not possible for the remains to be returned (for example, when they are unidentified or are unclaimed), they should be buried properly, as specified above. Also, all necessary measures should be taken to ensure proper handling of the personal effects of the deceased. 86. The main responsibility for the proper handling of the dead and for providing information to the families lies with the authorities and armed groups. 87. The forensic recovery of human remains constitutes part of the right to know the truth and contributes to the knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing person. It also dignifies the victims whose remains are thus recovered, and helps to ensure the right to bury the dead and to carry out ceremonies for them in accordance with each culture, which is inherent in all human beings. 88. Ensuring adequate standards of forensic practice for investigations into missing persons serves several important purposes: (a) the recovery of remains for physical examination and analysis for their identification and determination of cause and manner of death, including the documentation of injuries and other evidence for legal proceedings and to uncover human rights abuses; (b) the release of remains to relatives, thereby facilitating funeral arrangements and emotional healing; (c) the search for clues, which may assist in the historical reconstruction of events and revelations to create awareness; and (d) acknowledgement that is necessary for healing and to draw lessons for the future of the community. Forensic investigations should be performed only with proper authorization, adequate standards of quality assurance and control, and in accordance with the conditions specified by law. 89. Forensic human identification of human remains is based on the comparison and matching of information obtained from the deceased (post-mortem data) with equivalent information from the missing person (ante-mortem data). The main methods of identification are fingerprints, dental traits and unique medical, radiological or anthropological features and genetics – typically, forensic DNA analysis. 90. While there is a trend to use forensic DNA analysis for the identification of human remains, there are, however, certain difficulties associated with this process, including the costs involved, the facilities used and the expertise required for the analysis, interpretation and reliability of results. Laboratories performing such analysis should work to accredited standards of quality control and assurance. In some cases, there may be no DNA recoverable from the remains or suitable family members may not be available for comparisons. Therefore, identification should not be based solely on DNA analysis (or on any other primary method alone), but should take into account all available ante-mortem and post-mortem data. 91. Authorities must ensure that the examination of human remains and their identification are undertaken by qualified and competent professionals. An authority competent to issue and deliver death certificates must be designated. 17