A/HRC/45/13/Add.3 and other bureaucratic obstacles. It is of particular importance that States, including those that have not ratified the International Convention, follow the provisions of its article 14, which requires the provision of all possible judicial assistance, including necessary evidence. This provision is an essential way to comply with the obligation to ensure an effective investigation into all cases of enforced disappearance. K. Obligations to investigate disappearances committed by non-State actors 90. The investigation of disappearances potentially committed by non-State actors entails a series of specific challenges and has generated diverse interpretations regarding the protection that States owe victims. In its practice of transmitting cases, the Working Group has interpreted that where there are elements indicating a potential or indirect involvement of the State or of any of its officials, whether through support or acquiescence, the cases must be investigated as enforced disappearances, and it will be the burden of the State to investigate the facts and demonstrate that it has not participated in the acts of disappearance in question. In considering these cases, the Working Group has taken into account the context and patterns of disappearances in the concerned country. 91. It has equally been established that a State has an obligation to investigate disappearances, even if that State did not participate. This obligation was outlined in article 3 of the International Convention, which sought to amend a gap in the protection of victims. In addition, States may have tools and means to carry out in-depth investigations and, in some cases, have channels of communications with these non-State actors or with third parties, all of which can contribute to the success of such a process. 92. The multiplication of abductions committed by non-State actors, in particular in the context of internal armed conflicts, and the lack of adequate protection has led the Working Group to initiate a process for documenting cases that may amount to enforced disappearances when the alleged perpetrators are exercising effective control or governmental functions over a territory.103 IV. Conclusions and recommendations 93. Throughout its history, the Working Group has drawn the attention of the international community to impunity as a distinctive trait of enforced disappearances. It continues to observe alarming patterns of impunity, both in relation to past acts of enforced disappearance and to new disappearances occurring in different parts of the world. 94. Impunity can have a multiplying effect, which causes additional suffering and anguish to the victims and their families. The Working Group believes that the international community should not stand neutral in the face of such suffering. Instead, it must strengthen cooperation efforts, increase the assistance available to victims and pursue judicial investigations and prosecutions, both at the local and international levels. 95. The distinctive components of an enforced disappearance – in particular, the participation of State agents and attempts to conceal information and cover up the crime – necessitate that investigations be carried out with the requisite independence and autonomy. 96. Delays in investigations are usually the result of multiple obstacles faced during judicial proceedings, such as, but not limited to, the destruction or loss of evidence and the passing of the perpetrators, victims and witnesses. Such obstacles may lead to de facto impunity. 97. An effective investigation of enforced disappearances must include information about the whereabouts and the fates of the disappeared persons, the circumstances of their disappearance and the identity of the perpetrators. Such an investigation is not 103 18 A/HRC/42/40, para. 94.