A/HRC/13/31 General allegations Summary of the allegations 84. Information was submitted by sources to the Working Group concerning obstacles reportedly encountered in the implementation of the Declaration. On 15 May 2009, after its eighty-seventh session, the Working Group transmitted a general allegation to the Government. 85. It was reported that high ranking officials of Belarus are not being investigated for their involvement in the crime of enforced disappearance as a practice to remove political opponents. According to the information received, the Government is using a delaying technique of postponing or extending investigations to reach a 15-year statute of limitations after which a case can be closed. Additionally, it has been reported that the families of the victims of enforced disappearance have not received detailed information from the Government about the course of the investigations. 86. It has been further reported that in one case the Minsk Oktyabrskiy District Court has suspended the hearing of applications for presumption of death, even though the legislation establishes that if a person does not appear after three years of his or her disappearance, a legal presumption of death can be issued. According to the source, the Minsk Oktyabrskiy District Court decided that a civil case cannot be renewed until the criminal case is closed. Reply from the Government 87. A response was received from the Government, on 5 June 2009, stating that investigations had started promptly for all three cases. For two of those cases the conclusion was reached that the victims were abducted by unidentified persons and driven away to an unknown destination. The Government affirmed that there is no evidence to substantiate the allegation made by the media and the relatives of the victims that high-level government officials and agents of the secret service were involved in the disappearances. It stated that the allegation that the investigations have been suspended is incorrect: they are ongoing but further details cannot be revealed until they are completed. Total cases transmitted, clarified and outstanding 88. Since its establishment, the Working Group has transmitted three cases to the Government; all remain outstanding. Observations 89. The Working Group reminds the Government of its obligations under the Declaration to conduct thorough and impartial investigations “for as long as the fate of the victim of enforced disappearance remains unclarified” (art. 13.6) and to ensure that statutes of limitations, where they exist, relating to acts of enforced disappearance are substantial and commensurate with the extreme seriousness of the offence (art. 17.3). 90. The Working Group calls upon the Government to sign and ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and accept the competence of the Committee under articles 31 and 32. 22 GE.09-17704