case, any State authority, public official or individual who becomes aware of acts aimed at the enforced disappearance of persons, must report this immediately. 737 476. Furthermore, the State’s obligation to investigate possible acts of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is reinforced by the provisions of Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the Inter-American Convention against Torture which oblige the State to “take effective measures to prevent and punish torture within their jurisdiction,” and also “to prevent and punish other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.” This obligation applies to Colombia since December 1998, when it ratified this Convention. 477. Based on the above considerations and bearing in mind that the investigations into the facts of this case under the ordinary jurisdiction were not started, seriously and effectively, until 16 and 22 years after the events (in the case of the disappearances and torture, respectively) or were never started (in the case of the detention and ill-treatment of Orlando Quijano), the Court concludes that the State failed to comply with its obligation to open an investigation ex officio into the events of this case immediately. B.4) Failure to search for the disappeared victims 478. In this case, eleven victims are still disappeared, inasmuch as their fate or whereabouts remain unknown. As mentioned previously, even in the hypothesis of the death of these persons, the State had and has the obligation to take all pertinent measures to clarify and determine their whereabouts. The Court notes that this obligation is independent of whether the disappearance of the person is the result of the wrongful act of forced disappearance, or of other circumstances such as their death in the operation to retake the Palace of Justice, errors in the return of their remains, or other reasons. 738 479. In cases of presumed enforced disappearance, it is essential that the judicial and prosecution authorities act promptly and immediately ordering the opportune and necessary measures to determine the whereabouts of the victim or the place where he or she could be deprived of liberty. 739 480. In order to conduct an investigation into a presumed enforced disappearance effectively and with due diligence, the authorities in charge of the investigation must use all necessary means to take those measures and make those inquiries that are essential and opportune to clarify the fate of the victims. 740 On numerous occasions, this Court has ruled on the obligation of States to conduct a genuine search, using the appropriate administrative or judicial mechanism, during which every effort is made, systematically and rigorously, with the adequate and appropriate human, technical and scientific resources, to 737 Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para. 65, and Case of García and family members v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2012. Series C No. 258, para. 138. 738 Similarly, under international humanitarian law applicable in situations of non-international armed conflicts such as this one, States must “take all feasible measures to account for persons reported missing as a result of armed conflict and must provide their family members with any information it has on their fate.” Cf. ICRC, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Vol. I, Rule 117, edited by Jean-Marie Henckaerts and Louise Doswald-Beck, 2007. 739 Cf. Case of Anzualdo Castro v. Peru. Preliminary objection, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of September 22, 2009. Series C No. 202, para. 134, and Case of García and family members v. Guatemala. Merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of November 29, 2012. Series C No. 258, para. 138. 740 Cf. Case of Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras. Merits. Judgment of July 29, 1988. Series C No. 4, para. 174, 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. 182. See also Article X of the Inter-American Convention on the Forced Disappearance of Persons, and Article 12 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. 167