5 23. The Commission is competent ratione temporis in that the obligation to respect and guarantee the rights protected in the American Convention w as already in effect for the State on the date the events alleged in the petition w ould have occurred. The Commission notes that the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons (hereinafter “ Convention on Forced Disappearance” ) took effect for Colombia on April 12, 2005, the date on w hich it deposited its ratifying instrument . Therefore, the IACHR is competent ratione temporis w ith respect to the obligation provided in Article I(b), given the ongoing nature of the failure to shed light on the crime of forced disappearance being reported. 24. Finally, the Commission is competent ratione materiae, because the petition reports possible violations of human rights protected by the American Convention . B. Admissibility requirements 1. Exhaustion of domestic remedies 25. Article 46(1)(a) of the American Convention requires the prior exhaustion of the remedies available w ithin the domestic jurisdiction, in accordance w ith generally recognized principles of international law , as a requirement for the admission of complaints regarding the alleged violation of the American Convention. 26. Article 46(2) of the Convention provides that the requirement of prior exhaustion of domestic remedies does not apply w hen: a) b) c) The domestic legislation of the State concerned does not afford due process of law for the protection of the right or rights that have allegedly been violated; The party alleging violation of his rights has been denied access to the remedies under domestic law or has been prevented from exhausting them; and There has been unw arranted delay in rendering a final judgment under the aforementioned remedies. As established in the Commission’ s Rules of Procedure and as expressed by the Inter-American Court, w henever a State alleges the petitioners’ failure to exhaust the domestic remedies, it has the burden of identifying w hich remedies should be exhausted and demonstrating that the remedies that have not been exhausted are “ adequate” for remedying the alleged violation, w hich means that the function of those remedies w ithin the domestic legal system is suitable for protecting the l egal right that has been infringed. 2 27. In the instant case, the State alleges in an initial stage that it w as conducting an investigation and thus the domestic remedies w ere not exhausted. Subsequently, it asserted that criminal, disciplinary, and contentious-administrative proceedings w ere conducted based on the facts of this case. It also indicated that the criminal investigation had been w ithout delays and that it has been conducted seriously, impartially, and effectively and the victims or their relati ves could have easily had access to it, but did not establish themselves as a civil party in the action . For their part, the petitioners allege that more than 22 years have passed since the investigation w as begun and it is still suspended, so that it has not been effective in punishing those responsible. 28. In view of the allegations made by the parties, the first requirement is to clarify w hich domestic remedies must be exhausted in a case like the instant case, in the light of the 2 Article 31(3) of the Commission’ s Rules of Procedure. See also I/A/ Court H.R., Velásquez Rodríguez Case, Judgment of July 29, 1988, paragraph 64.