A/HRC/RES/21/4 witnesses implemented within the framework of criminal procedures relating to gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law, 2 on the seminar on the importance of archives as a means to guarantee the right to the truth 3 and on the obligation of States to investigate serious violations of human rights, and the use of forensic genetics;4 18. Urges States: (a) To prevent the occurrence of enforced disappearances, including by guaranteeing that any person deprived of liberty is held solely in officially recognized and supervised places of detention, guaranteeing access to all places of detention by authorities and institutions whose competence in this regard has been recognized by the concerned State, maintaining official, accessible, up-to-date registers and/or records of detainees, and ensuring that detainees are brought before a competent authority promptly after detention as provided for by article 10 of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance; (b) To work to eradicate the culture of impunity for the perpetrators of enforced disappearances and to elucidate cases of enforced disappearance as a crucial step in effective prevention; (c) To prevent and investigate with special attention the enforced disappearance of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, especially children, and the enforced disappearance of women, as they may become particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and other forms of violence, and to bring the perpetrators of those enforced disappearances to justice; (d) To ensure that their competent authorities proceed immediately to conduct impartial inquiries in all circumstances where there is reason to believe that an enforced disappearance has occurred in territory under their jurisdiction and, if such belief is borne out, to ensure that all the perpetrators of enforced or involuntary disappearances are brought to justice; (e) To continue their efforts to elucidate the fate of disappeared persons and to ensure that competent authorities in charge of investigation and prosecution are provided with adequate means and resources to resolve cases and bring perpetrators to justice, including after considering establishing, where appropriate, specific judicial mechanisms or truth and reconciliation commissions that complement the justice system; (f) To consider the use of forensic genetics to contribute to the identification of the remains of the victims of enforced or involuntary disappearances and to address the issue of impunity; (g) To take steps to provide adequate protection to witnesses of enforced or involuntary disappearances, human rights defenders acting against enforced disappearances, and the lawyers and families of disappeared persons against any intimidation, persecution, reprisals or ill-treatment to which they might be subjected, paying special attention to women as relatives of disappeared persons in the context of their struggle to resolve the disappearance of members of their families; (h) To make provisions in their legal systems for victims of enforced or involuntary disappearances or their families to seek fair, prompt and adequate reparation 2 3 4 4 A/HRC/15/33. A/HRC/17/21. A/HRC/18/25 and Corr.1.