A/HRC/16/70 disappearance of their relative. The specificity of their situation should be publicly recognized. 70. States are obliged to take measures to respond to the material, financial, psychological and legal needs faced by families of persons unaccounted for. In this context, a mechanism for needs assessment and the processing of requests for assistance should be established to which the persons concerned would have ready access. 71. First and foremost, the legal situation of persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and of their relatives should be established in domestic legislation. Specifically, the law should envisage the circumstances and the procedure by which a person can be declared absent or missing. Furthermore, the legal consequences of a declaration of absence and a declaration of death, including in terms of property administration, guardianship and parental authority, should be clearly prescribed by law. 72. The main principle is that the rights and interests of missing persons, including their civil status, property and assets, must be protected at all times until their fate has been ascertained or their death recognized. 73. Missing persons should be presumed to be alive until their fate has been ascertained. The foremost right of a missing person is that of search and recovery. A person should not be declared dead without sufficient supporting evidence. The death of a missing person may be determined through the identification of his or her remains or presumed as a result of other evidence, events or certain defined situations, or may be presumed after a period of time. The issuance of a death certificate should have all of the effects to a missing person as it does with regard to any other person. 74. With regard to the assistance to be provided to the families of persons unaccounted for, it is essential that steps be taken to ensure that the dependents of such persons are entitled to the same social or financial benefits provided for other victims. States should adopt a gender-sensitive approach to ensuring the rights of relatives. Such matters as the custody of the children of the missing person, inheritance rights, the right to remarriage, pension rights and entitlements to public assistance should be properly addressed in domestic legislation. In this regard, recommendation CM/REC(2009)12 on principles concerning missing persons and the presumption of death, adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on 9 December 2009, is noteworthy. In its recommendation, the Committee of Ministers states that a fair balance must be struck between the interests of missing persons and of the beneficiaries as well as others with a legitimate interest, particularly with regard to property and inheritance rights, pension and life insurance rights, the right to enter into a new union (marriage, registered partnership or similar union), legal affiliation and parental rights. 75. If needed, material and financial assistance should be provided to the dependents of missing persons. States should ensure that the families can benefit from support programmes aiming to improve their situation and helping them to deal with the ongoing psychological suffering related to the disappearance of their relatives. The interests of children and women and the situation of single heads of families should be given special attention. In particular, measures should be taken to reunite unaccompanied children with their families or to prevent them from being separated from their direct relatives (parents or siblings). Community and psychological support, including therapeutic when necessary, should also be provided to all those in need. Moreover, families should be supported in their will to commemorate and restore the memory of their missing relatives within society or in their community of belonging. Assistance should be provided to relatives of missing persons in order to reintegrate them into social life. 15