2.
34. Investigators and law enforcement officials
should have regard for all relevant international
standards, principles and codes. These include, in
addition to the Principles and Protocol, the 1985
UN Basic Principles on the Independence of the
Judiciary,70 the 1990 UN Basic Principles on the
Role of Lawyers,71 the 1990 UN Guidelines on
the Role of Prosecutors,72 as well as the 1979
UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement
Officials73 and the 1990 Basic Principles on the
Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement
Officials.74 Investigators should also be guided
by the Siracusa Guidelines,75 the Lund-London
Guidelines,76 the OHCHR’s Commission of Inquiry
Guidance,77 and the 2015 “Nelson Mandela
Rules”.78
3.
to ensure that the family members are able to
participate effectively, the authorities should
provide funding for a lawyer to represent them. In
the case of a child (and where there are no other
relatives), a trusted adult or guardian (who may
not be related to the deceased or disappeared
person) may represent the interests of the child. In
certain circumstances – for example, where family
members are suspected perpetrators – these rights
may be subject to restrictions, but only where,
and to the extent, strictly necessary to ensure the
integrity of the investigation.
Relevant international principles and codes
The participation and protection of family
members during an investigation
35. The participation of the family members79 or other
close relatives of a deceased or disappeared
person is an important element of an effective
investigation.80 The State must enable all
close relatives to participate effectively in the
investigation, though without compromising its
integrity. The relatives of a deceased person must
be sought, and informed of the investigation.
Family members should be granted legal standing,
and the investigative mechanisms or authorities
should keep them informed of the progress of the
investigation, during all its phases, in a timely
manner.81 Family members must be enabled by
the investigating authorities to make suggestions
and arguments as to what investigative steps are
necessary, provide evidence, and assert their
interests and rights throughout the process.82 They
should be informed of, and have access to, any
hearing relevant to the investigation, and they
should be provided with information relevant to
the investigation in advance. Where necessary
36. Family members should be protected from any
ill-treatment, intimidation or sanction as a result
of their participation in an investigation or their
search for information concerning a deceased
or disappeared person. Appropriate measures
should be taken to ensure their safety, physical
and psychological well-being, and privacy.
37. Family members have specific rights in relation to
human remains. When the identity of a deceased
person has been determined, family members
should be informed immediately and thereafter a
notification of death posted in an easily accessible
way. To the extent possible, family members
should also be consulted prior to an autopsy.
They should be entitled to have a representative
present during the autopsy. Upon completion of
the necessary investigative procedures, human
remains should be returned to family members,
allowing them to dispose of the deceased
according to their beliefs.
70
Adopted by the Seventh UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders held at Milan from 26 August to 6 September 1985 and
endorsed by General Assembly Resolutions 40/32 of 29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985.
71
Adopted by the Seventh UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders and endorsed by General Assembly Resolutions 40/32 of
29 November 1985 and 40/146 of 13 December 1985.
72
Adopted by the Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
73
Adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979.
74
Adopted by the Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Havana, 27 August to 7 September 1990.
75
Siracusa Guidelines for International, Regional and National Fact-Finding Bodies, adopted by the International Institute in Higher Studies in Criminal Sciences,
Siracusa, Italy, 2013.
76
The International Human Rights Fact-Finding Guidelines (The Lund-London Guidelines) were produced by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights
Institute and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute in 2009 and revised in 2015.
77
OHCHR, Commissions of Inquiry and Fact-Finding Missions on International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Guidance and Practice, 2015.
78
UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the “Nelson Mandela Rules”), adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 70/175 of
17 December 2015.
79
The term “family” in this Protocol should be understood broadly as applying to the relatives of the deceased.
80
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Mr. Pablo de Greiff, UN doc.
A/HRC/21/46, 9 August 2012, para. 54.
81
See, e.g., IACtHR, Villagrán-Morales and others v. Guatemala, Judgment, 19 November 1999, paras. 225, 227, 229.
82
UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, Principle 16; IACHR, Manuel Stalin Bolaños v.
Ecuador, Report No. 10/95, Case 10.580, 12 September 1995, para. 45.
9
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