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OMP finalising missing persons list 

06 Oct 2021

  • G.L. says Reparations Office has processed 3,775 claims this year  
BY Pamodi Waravita  Foreign Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said yesterday (5) that the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is finalising its list of missing persons in order to grant closure to grieving families, while the Office of Reparations has processed 3,775 claims for this year. “The OMP, in fulfilling its core function, is finalising the list of missing persons in collaboration with other agencies, with a view to enabling the granting of closure for a number of grieving families. In tandem, the Office of Reparations has processed 3,775 claims during the course of this year alone. We have supported the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) in its effort to re-energise the implementation of its eight-point action plan,” said Prof. Peiris in Parliament yesterday. He noted that he has informed the international community over the past two months about these functions of the aforementioned institutions. Prof. Pieris also stressed on the importance of the civil society in the process of reconciliation and national unity, adding that they are an integral part of the solutions that the Government envisions. “They are not a manifestation of the problem but an essential component of the resolution of our problems. There have been concerns raised about the supposed government initiatives to stifle the activities of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Sri Lanka. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are actively engaged with the community.” Prof. Peiris participated in a number of high-level discussions over the past two months, including his address to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) last month. However, civil society actors and the families of victims of enforced disappearances have been sceptical and critical of actions of the aforementioned institutions in recent years. The Association of Relatives of the Disappeared – Northern and Eastern Provinces wrote to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet last month, about the lack of faith they have in the current OMP, and therefore requested her to ensure that an appropriate judicial mechanism is formulated to investigate the plight of missing persons in the country.


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