A/HRC/16/48 Definition of enforced disappearance 5. As defined in the preamble of the Declaration, enforced disappearances occur when persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of Government or by organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law. Definition of perpetrators 6. The Working Group operates for purposes of its work on the basis that, in accordance with the definition contained in the Preamble of the Declaration, enforced disappearances are only considered as such when the act in question is perpetrated by State actors or by private individuals or organized groups (e.g. paramilitary groups) acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government. Based on the above, WGEID does not admit cases when they are attributed to persons or groups not acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of the Government, such as terrorist or insurgent movements fighting the Government in its own territory. B. Handling of cases Urgent procedures 7. Cases of enforced disappearances that occurred within the three months preceding receipt of the report by the Working Group are transmitted to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the country concerned by the most direct and rapid means. Their transmission can be authorized by the Chairperson on the basis of a specific delegation of power given to him by the Working Group. Cases which occurred prior to the three-month limit, but not more than one year before the date of their receipt by the Secretariat, provided that they had some connection with a case which occurred within the three-month period, can be transmitted between sessions by letter, upon authorization by the Chairperson. WGEID notifies sources that an urgent action has been sent to the concerned Government, thus helping it to enter into communication with the authorities about the specific case. Standard procedures 8. Cases of enforced disappearances that are reported after three months are placed before WGEID for detailed examination during its sessions. Those which fulfil the requirements outlined above are transmitted, upon the Working Group’s specific authorization, to the Governments concerned with the request that they carry out investigations in order to clarify the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, and inform the Working Group of the results. These cases are communicated by letter from the Group’s Chairperson to the Government concerned through the Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva. 9. Any substantive additional information which the sources submit on an outstanding case is placed before the Working Group and, following its approval, transmitted to the Government concerned. Admissibility of cases of enforced or involuntary disappearances 10. Reports of disappearances are considered admissible by the Working Group when they originate from the family or friends of the disappeared person. Such reports may, 127