A/HRC/16/48 through DNA analysis. States should take the necessary steps to use forensic expertise and scientific methods of identification to the maximum of its available resources, including through international assistance and cooperation. 573. The Working Group reminds States of article 18 of the Declaration, as well as of its general comment thereon, according to which persons who have or who are alleged to have committed acts of enforced disappearance shall not benefit from any special amnesty law or similar measures that might have the effect of exempting them from any criminal proceedings or sanction. 574. The Working Group encourages States to apply the most comprehensive definition of “victim”, with no distinction between direct and indirect victims. Indeed, any act of enforced disappearance affects and disrupts many lives, well beyond the person who is actually disappeared. 575. The Working Group notes a pattern of threats, intimidation and reprisals against victims of enforced disappearances, including family members, witnesses and human rights defenders working on such cases. 576. The Working Group calls upon States to take specific measures to prevent such acts; provide assistance to the victims, including legal assistance, psychological and medical support. The Working Group calls on States to punish the perpetrators and protect those working on enforced disappearances. 577. The Working Group recognizes that the victims of acts of enforced disappearance and their families shall obtain redress and shall have the right to integral reparations, including the means for as complete a rehabilitation as possible, and recalls its general comment on article 19 of the Declaration on this matter. In the event of the death of the victim as a result of an act of enforced disappearance, their dependents shall also be entitled to reparation. Reparations should be integral and proportionate to the gravity of the human rights violation and the suffering of the disappeared person and his/her family. 578. The Working Group is encouraged by the initiatives taken by several States to make integral reparations for victims of enforced disappearances. For those States that have not done so, the Working Group recommends the adoption of legislative and other measures to enable victims to claim reparations. 579. The Working Group notes the importance of reconciliation. This process must benefit from the participation of the whole of civil society. The Working Group emphasizes that every process of reconciliation needs to be based on the right to the truth and cannot be achieved at the expense of the right of victims of enforced disappearances to justice and reparation. 580. The question of disappearance has a special resonance with women. The serious economic hardships which usually accompany a disappearance are most often borne by them. When women are the victims of disappearance, they become particularly vulnerable to sexual and other forms of violence. In addition, it is they who are most often at the forefront of the struggle to resolve the disappearances of members of their family, making them susceptible to intimidation, persecution and reprisals. 581. The Working Group notes that children are also victims of disappearances. The disappearance of a child, his/her wrongful removal, and the loss of a parent through disappearance are serious violations of children's rights. 582. Country visits are an integral part of the fulfilment of the Working Group’s mandate. They allow the Working Group to highlight country practices in addressing enforced disappearances, assist States in reducing obstacles to implementation of the 124