to communicate with their family, counsel or any other person of their choice. The Convention establishes that, when an alleged perpetrator of an act of enforced disappearance is present in any territory under the jurisdiction of a State Party, such State shall take such measures as may be necessary to establish its jurisdiction over the offence, unless it extradites or surrenders the offender to another State in accordance with its international obligations or surrenders the offender to an international criminal tribunal whose jurisdiction it has recognized. One of the Convention’s major innovations is article 24, which includes in the definition of “victim” not only the disappeared person but also any individual who has suffered harm as the direct result of an enforced disappearance, such as family members. This article also establishes the right to the truth “regarding the circumstances of the enforced disappearance, the progress and results of the investigation and the fate of the disappeared person.” Although this right had been recognized in humanitarian law and by some international bodies, such as the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Convention is the first international human rights instrument to expressly state it. Article 24 also describes the right to obtain reparation, which covers material and moral damages and includes, as appropriate, restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. Finally, it requires States Parties to take appropriate steps concerning the legal situation of the disappeared persons, particularly with regard to social welfare, financial matters, family law and property rights. This provision can help the families of the disappeared move on with some aspects of their life, such as inheritance and civil status. The final provision in Part I of the Convention concerns the wrongful removal of children, whether they are subjected to enforced disappearance as individuals or as a consequence of their parents’ disappearance, for instance children who are born during the captivity of a mother subjected to enforced disappearance. In searching and identifying such children, States shall protect the best interests of the children, including their right to preserve or re-establish their identity, nationality, name and family relations. States shall also take all necessary measures to prevent and suppress the falsification, concealment or destruction of documents attesting to the 9