CCPR/C/113/D/2028/2011 5.3 She refers to the general comment of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on enforced disappearance as a continuous crime.16 She considers that the State party’s observations do not object to the admissibility of the communication and substantially acknowledge the merits the allegations formulated therein. She considers that those observations corroborate her allegations that her son remains registered as an “unaccounted for” missing person. The tracing process is, therefore, still open under the responsibility of the Bosnian authorities, who are under the obligation to establish his fate and whereabouts; in the case of his death, to search for, locate, respect and return his remains to his family; to disclose to the latter the truth regarding the circumstances of his enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation on his fate; and to guarantee her redress for the ongoing violations. 5.4 The author states that, so far, neither she nor the eyewitnesses of the events that led to the enforced disappearance of her son have been contacted by personnel of the Missing Persons Institute referred to by the State party, while she considers that they would be able to provide those authorities with information that could be relevant to locating him. 17 She points out that the State party’s observations provide general references to the existence of mass graves and lack precise information as to where her son’s remains could be located. Should the Missing Persons Institute have reliable information according to which the mortal remains of her son could be located in the mass graves of Trnopolje or Prijedor, she should be informed accordingly without delay and be associated with the whole process of location, exhumation and identification of the remains. 5.5 The author argues that the high number of war crimes still requiring investigation does not relieve the State party from its responsibility to conduct a prompt, impartial, independent and thorough investigation into cases of gross human rights violations, or from regularly informing relatives of the victims on the progress and results of those investigations. Although the enforced disappearance of Mr. Ičić was promptly reported to various authorities, it was not until 20 December 2010, after she submitted her communication to the Committee, that the case was registered and assigned a file number by the Office of the Prosecutor; however, she has not been informed if an investigation is about to start (see para. 5.1 above). In this regard, the author reiterates that relatives of victims of enforced disappearance should be closely associated with the investigations. In particular, they should be regularly given information on the process of the investigations and their results, and whether trials might forthcoming.18 5.6 The author considers that the implementation of the national strategy for war crimes has been deficient, as noted by international entities, and cannot be used either by the State party as a sufficient response concerning the lack of information on the progress and results of the investigations carried out, or to justify the inactivity of the authorities concerned. She argues that the adoption of a transitional justice strategy cannot replace access to justice and redress for the victims of gross human rights violations and their relatives. 5.7 In the light of the State party’s reference to the Law on Missing Persons, the author reiterates that, several years after its entry into force, some of its crucial provisions, including those concerning the establishment of the Fund for Support to the Families of Missing Persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina, have not been implemented. Furthermore, a 16 17 18 10 See A/HRC/16/48, paras 1-2, 7-8 and 39. See A/HRC/AC/6/2, paras. 53, 56 and 80-97; and general comment No. 10 of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, para. 4. See general comment No. 10 of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, para. 3; and A/HRC/16/48/Add.1, paras. 34 and 63-64.