Office of the Missing Persons to come under the purview of the Prime Minister?

Feb 18, 2017

It is reported that a request has been made by the President Maithripala Sirisena that at least for a few months the activities of the Office of the Missing Persons Office should be brought under the purview of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. Although it is reported that the Office of the Missing Persons Office is to be established had been approved in Parliament it has not been gazetted yet by the President as to under whose purview this office would function.

It is reported that in order to break the silence the authorities of the OMP had failed to justify those victimized by not holding post inquiries to numerous complaints made by the relatives of victims.This would relate to the human rights summit to be held in Geneva in March this year along with GSP+ and other European proposals to be taken up.

The Chief Minister of Northern Province CV Vigneswaran had made a complaint to the Ambassador of the European Union Man Martthew who had toured Jaffna on this issue which was promised to the International community by the Sri Lanka government.

The Act No 16 of 2016 on the establishment of the Missing Persons Office was passed in Parliament on the 11th August 2016.This office had been established as the only office to inquire and investigate into those who had been disappeared. This office is run by seven members who have been appointed by the President according to the instructions of constitutional council of the government.These members should be competent on many fields like human rights,International human law. human conflicts and specialists on many other human issues who should be independent personnel.Each member should be given a official period of three years which could be extended by another similar period.The office should be housed in Colombo and if needed could establish regional branches.It is the view of the victimized that for their convenience branches should be established regionally to have east access.

In terms of the sub section 12 (a) of the Act information on missing persons could be given by relatives or any other person to the office of the OMP.The section 27 the displaced or missing persons has been described as a wide interpretation. For these persons who were abducted forcibly,those in North and East during the tenure of the civil war and those disappeared for political and social reasons during political instability periods are included.