PRACTICE NOTE 5 33 SEARCHING FOR THE DISAPPEARED STRATEGIC LITIGATION OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN AFRICA • Use information in an appropriate manner, by setting up registers and databases on disappeared persons; • Be linked to the criminal investigation; • Ensure the safety of victims, witnesses and others during the process; • Be independent and impartial, and be governed by public protocols. The obligation to search is a continuous obligation. It only ends when the fate of the individual is established or their whereabouts are identified. While the obligation to search lies with the State, victims and those accompanying them often play a key role in establishing the circumstances in which enforced disappearances occurred. Case study: Disappearance of 43 students in Ayotzinapa (Mexico) Facts. On 26 September 2014, 43 students from Ayotzinapa were forcibly disappeared by Mexican security forces. Action. The initial investigation was marred by irregularities, resulting in the release of 78 persons of those initially accused, due to lack of evidence and irregularities in their detention, including confessions obtained through torture. A new Prosecutor was appointed in 2019 and a special unit was created to investigate the case. Since then, new arrests of State officials have taken place. In July 2020, the Prosecutor’s Office announced that forensic scientists at the University of Innsbruck (Austria), had identified the remains of one of the 43 disappeared students. This was the first identification made in the case in more than five years. Given the location where the remains were found, the identification of the victim proved that the students were not disappeared by criminal gangs (as initially held by State officials), but by State security forces (as held by the families of the students).