Admissibility

All admissibility criteria having been met, the Committee declares the communication admissible and proceeds to its examination on the merits. 

Recommendations

Pursuant to article 2 (3) (a) of the Covenant, the Committee considers that the State party is under an obligation to provide the authors with an effective remedy. This requires it to make full reparation to individuals whose Covenant rights have been violated. Accordingly, the State party is obligated, inter alia, to: (a) intensify its investigations to establish the fate or whereabouts of Mrs. Lale and Mrs. Popović, as required by the Law on Missing Persons of 2004; (b) strengthen its efforts to bring to justice those responsible for Mrs. Lale’s and Mrs. Popović’s disappearances without unnecessary delay, as required by the National War Crimes Prosecution Strategy; (c) ensure that any necessary psychological rehabilitation and medical care is made available to the authors for the psychological harm they have suffered; and (d) provide adequate compensation and appropriate measures of satisfaction. The State party is also under an obligation to prevent similar violations in the future and must ensure, in particular, that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances and adequate measures of reparation are accessible to the families of missing persons.