A/HRC/19/58 who untiringly work to know the fate or whereabouts of disappeared persons in very adverse circumstances in all parts of the world and reiterates its solidarity with the victims of enforced disappearance and their families. 696. Unfortunately, the Working Group continues to note a pattern of threats, intimidation and reprisals against victims of enforced disappearances, including family members, witnesses and human rights defenders working on such cases. Again, the Working Group calls upon States to take specific measures to prevent such acts and to punish the perpetrators and protect those working on enforced disappearances. 697. The Working Group notes that, regrettably, enforced disappearances continue to be used by some States as a tool to deal with situations of conflict or internal unrest. The Working Group has also witnessed the use of „short term disappearances,‟ where victims are placed in secret detention or unknown locations, outside the protection of the law, before being released weeks or months later, sometimes after having been tortured and without having been brought in front of a judge or other civil authority. This very worrisome practice, whether it is used to counter terrorism, to fight organized crime or suppress legitimate civil strife demanding democracy, freedom of expression or religion, should be considered as an enforced disappearance and as such adequately investigated, prosecuted and punished. 698. In a general comment adopted this year, the Working Group concluded that enforced disappearance represents a paradigmatic violation of the right to be recognized as a person before the law. It stated that enforced disappearances entail the denial of the disappeared person‟s legal existence and, as a consequence, prevent him or her from enjoying all other human rights and freedoms. It further concluded that States should acknowledge and respect the right of every disappeared person to be recognized as a person before the law, and that the basis of this acknowledgement should take the form of a “declaration of absence by reason of enforced disappearance”. The Working Group is committed to preserve and safeguard the right to recognition as a person in the implementation of its mandate. As the legal personality of the disappeared person is denied at the domestic level, the humanitarian mandate implemented by the Working Group should be understood as an international guarantee of this right. 699. The Working Group calls upon States to take specific legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures, including the establishment of specific investigating bodies, to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances. 700. The Working Group reminds States that enforced disappearance is a continuous crime for as long as the fate or whereabouts of the victim remains unclarified. States should take specific measures under their criminal law to define enforced disappearances as an autonomous criminal offence and to bring their existing legislation in line with the Declaration. In this regard, the Working Group encourages States to consult its study on best practices on enforced disappearances in domestic criminal legislation (A/HRC/16/48/Add.3). 701. States are encouraged to take all possible measures to prevent enforced disappearances. These include: accessible and updated registries of detainees at all places of detention and confinement; guaranteed access to appropriate information and to all such places for relatives as well as lawyers; bringing arrested persons promptly before a judicial authority; and strengthening civil society organizations that deal with the issue of enforced disappearance. 702. The Working Group reminds States of their obligations under the Declaration to ensure that cases of enforced disappearance are promptly investigated and persons accused of having committed these violations are arrested and prosecuted. Trials 138