The Sri Lankan government has decided to set up an Office on Missing Persons (OMP), one of the four mechanisms proposed to deal with the civil war-related grievances.
The OMP will not engage in prosecutions. However, it will have the power to investigate for the purpose of clarifying the fate of missing persons and the circumstances related to the disappearance, and communicating the status to relatives of the missing persons. The development comes a month before United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein is scheduled to present an oral update on Sri Lanka.
Existing body The development comes a month before United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein is scheduled to present an oral update on Sri Lanka. The government assured the U.N. Human Rights Council in September last year about the formation of the OMP.
Even though the government has not come out with any estimate of missing persons, the existing official body, set up during the regime of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to go into complaints on missing persons, has so far received complaints about nearly 24,000 persons including 5,000 members of the security forces.
The existing official body, set up during the regime of Mr. Rajapaksa, has so far received complaints about nearly 24,000 people, including 5,000 members of the security forces. However, it has not been viewed in positive light at the international level. Mr. Al-Hussein, in his report last year to the UNHRC, had recommended its abolition.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the decision on a new office was taken after undertaking a “rigorous review of best practices” both in Sri Lanka and across the world including Uganda, Bolivia, Argentina, and Uruguay which have all had missing persons offices.
Emphasising that the OMP would not duplicate the work of other Commissions, the Minister said it would absorb previous records in to a centralised system, aiming to complete outstanding investigations and finally provide families with the answers that they have long sought. “The OMP will work in tandem with the other post-conflict mechanisms, and along with the implementation of the convention on enforced disappearances, will prevent the re-emergence of the white van culture contributing to the safety and security of all Sri Lankans.”
However, a section of civil society organisations and individuals recently expressed reservations. K.S. Ratnavale, an advocate, said the nomenclature of the proposed body should have reference to enforced disappearances, as the term, “missing persons” could include even soldiers of the Army. There ought to be international involvement in the OMP, he added.
