The Issue Of Missing Persons & PTA
By Mangala Samaraweera – March 11, 2016
Mangala Samaraweera – Minister of Foreign Affairs
“The Government has taken steps to have a new draft law formulated by the eminent members of the National Law Commission and this has recently been handed over to the Ministry of Justice. We want to make sure that the draft legislation also is in line. We want to repeal the PTA but replace it with new legislation in keeping with international best practise.”
The Honourable Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Sampanthan has raised several important questions in this adjournment motion debated today but due to time restraints, I will speak out first on the matter of families of the disappeared and the missing.
Mr. Chairman,
The issue of missing persons is one that is very close to my heart. In fact way back in 1989, I along with Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa at that time were the core joint conveners of the Mothers Front Movement which was formed to deal with the missing people in the South during that era. In fact over the years, I have personally fought for the rights of the families of the missing, the pain and anguish of parents who have lost their children both in the North and the South, wives who have lost their husbands, sisters and brothers who have lost their siblings, is the same everywhere. In fact human grief has no colour, no race, no caste, no religion. Since the new government assumed office in September following the general election, we signed as Hon. Sampanthan said earlier, the Convention against Enforced Disappearances. Actually I believe on the Human Rights Day on the 10th of December last year with the clear objective to ensure that the white van culture and the years and years of enforced disappearances that took place all over the country would be confined to the history books (and) would be a thing of the past. This we are determined to achieve through firm action. In fact we are now in the process of drafting the legislation and hopefully within the next two months, the legislation will also be brought here to the house. No other government has taken this step for long years despite repeated calls to take action in this regard. We took the first step of signing the convention and I said we are now proceeding to work on enabling the legislation and I can assure the house that the work is currently underway to give legislative effect to the provisions of this convention hopefully within the next two months. As a measure of immediate relief to the families of the missing, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the issuance of Certificates of Absence in September, 2015. It is a matter of regret that the legislative amendment that is required to give effect to the issuance of this certificate has still not reached Parliament but my colleague, the Hon. Minister of Justice, has assured us that it will be done so in the very near future. However this matter is being closely followed by the Office of National Unity and Reconciliation and I’m hopeful that this much needed and much awaited piece of legislation would soon be passed enabling the families of missing persons to obtain Certificates of Absence. Just recently the ICRC also completed as you know, a needs assessment of the families of the missing and this was shared with the government late last month. ONUR and my ministry with a host of other line agencies are in the process of studying this to identify and address pressing issues of the families of the missing. I pledge that we will expedite action to explore what interim relief can be provided to the families of the missing. I urge the Honourable Members of the Parliament to also join the Government in assisting this task by suggesting measures that can be taken. In the meantime as I have mentioned before, the Government has worked on a concept note together with the ICRC for the establishment of an Office of Missing Persons by statute which will carry out its work on the basis of the families’ right to know.
