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Office of Missing Persons must build and maintain trust of victims: UN Resident Coordinator

30 Aug 2021

United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Hanaa Singer-Hamdy has said that the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) in 2016 was an important step by the Government of Sri Lanka, and building and maintaining the trust of victims and their relatives is essential for its success,  “A fully independent and effective institution, with the resources, skills and political support needed for its crucial work can help provide victims and families some answers,” she noted. Singer made these comments in her statement released today (30) on International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances 2021. “Enforced disappearance deprives families and communities of the right to know the truth about their loved ones, of accountability, justice and reparation. They experience mental anguish, alternating between hope and despair, wondering and waiting, sometimes for years, for news of the whereabouts of their loved ones. The families and friends of the victims also live with the insecurity that the search for the truth may expose them to danger,” the Resident Coordinator explained. Additionally, Singer pointed out that it is women who are most often at the forefront of the struggle to resolve the disappearance of family members as in this capacity, they may suffer intimidation, persecution, and reprisals. “The feeling of insecurity generated by unresolved enforced disappearances is not limited to the close relatives of the disappeared, but also affects their communities and all of society,” she said. While noting that the United Nations stands in solidarity with the victims of enforced disappearances, their families and communities, here in Sri Lanka and across the world, Singer stated that today is about recognising the courage, commitment and determination of families and victims from all communities, who, despite many challenges, have continued to voice their demands for justice and answers about the fate of their missing loved ones.


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