establish the whereabouts of the persons disappeared. 741 The return of the body of a disappeared person is extremely important for their next of kin, because it allows them to bury him or her in keeping with their beliefs, and also to close the mourning process that they have been experiencing throughout these years. In addition, the remains are evidence of what happened and, together with the place where they are found, can provide valuable information on the perpetrators of the violations or the institution to which they belong. 742 481. The Court has also considered that the next of kin of the victims of gross human rights violations and also society have the right to know the truth and, in particular in cases of forced disappearance or of presumed enforced disappearance, this entails the right of the next of kin of the victims to know their fate and, if possible, the whereabouts of their remains. 743 482. In this regard, the Court emphasizes the observation of the Superior Court of Bogota that, “to date, the Colombian State has not complied with its obligation to take all necessary measures to clarify the true situation [of the disappeared victims, with the exception of Irma Franco Pineda and Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera], especially when bearing in mind that the limited measures taken to this end were carried out irregularly, thus violating both the fundamental guarantees of the accused and the rights of the victims.” 744 483. According to the representatives, since 1985, the actions to search for the persons disappeared from the Palace of Justice have been undertaken, above all, by the next of kin, and even though the State has taken some steps in this regard, its activities have been isolated and unsuccessful. Thus, the Court takes note of the testimony of Cesar Rodríguez Vera, brother of Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera, who stated that, during approximately the first two years after the events of the Palace of Justice, the next of kin of the disappeared, their lawyer, and the Attorney General’s office had access to some military facilities, but these visits were announced previously and, therefore, did not achieve a satisfactory result. 745 484. The Court notes that, in this case, some measures have been taken to search for the disappeared. 746 In addition to the searches by the Attorney General’s office indicated supra, inspections have been conducted at some military facilities and, starting in 1998, a process 741 See, inter alia, Case of Gudiel Álvarez et al. (Diario Militar) v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 20, 2012. Series C No. 253, para. 334; Case of García and family members v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2012. Series C No. 258, para. 200, and Case of Osorio Rivera and family members v. Peru. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 26, 2013. Series C No. 274, para. 251. 742 Cf. Case of Las Dos Erres Massacre v. Guatemala. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 24, 2009. Series C No. 211, para. 245, and Case of Osorio Rivera and family members v. Peru. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 26, 2013. Series C No. 274, para. 250. 743 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 174, and Case of Gudiel Álvarez et al. (Diario Militar) v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 20, 2012. Series C No. 253, para. 301. The Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has ruled similarly when indicating that “the right of the relatives to know the truth of the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons is an absolute right, not subject to any limitation or derogation. No legitimate aim, or exceptional circumstances, may be invoked by the State to restrict this right. This absolute character also results from the fact that the enforced disappearance causes ‘anguish and sorrow’ […] to the family, a suffering that reaches the threshold of torture.” Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, General comment on the Right to the Truth in Relation to Enforced Disappearance. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Disappearances/GCright_to_the_truth.pdf 744 Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file, folio 23283). 745 Cf. Testimony of César Rodríguez Vera during the public hearing on the merits in this case. 746 According to the representatives, “in 1986, 1998 to 2000 and 2007, the Attorney General’s office, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the National Institute of Forensic Medicine undertook some exploration work in order to find the disappeared persons, without success” (merits file, folio 4026). 168