Comrade Minister Harshana Nanayakkara,
Ministry of Justice and National Integration.
To ensure the payment of interim relief allowances to families of the disappeared and to enhance the efficiency of investigations, Rs. 14 million was allocated in the November 2024 budget for this purpose.
Although this amount was sufficient to provide Rs. 200,000 to each of the 5,000 affected families, the government has failed to take steps to distribute any interim relief in the past six months.
With only six months remaining in the budget cycle, if the allocated funds are not utilized, they will have to be returned to the treasury.
In the 2023/24 fiscal year, Rs. 1,000 million was allocated for the same purpose, yet Rs. 200 million had to be returned to the treasury as it was not fully utilized.
To ensure full utilization of the current budget allocation, approximately 1,000 investigations must be conducted each month moving forward.
Despite the passage of six months, the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) has yet to conduct a single investigation. The primary reason for this delay is the Cabinet’s failure to approve the papers submitted by the Ministry of Justice, which are necessary to proceed with these investigations.
Furthermore, both the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have stated in Parliament and at the UN Human Rights Commission that international intervention is unnecessary to address disappearances, as the local mechanism will be strengthened for this purpose.
However, despite such assurances, no actions have been taken to strengthen the OMP since the new government came to power.
For instance, the OMP requires approximately 250 staff members to function effectively but currently operates with only 49. Although applications have been invited for new recruitments, the government has yet to approve them.
The majority of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the main partner of the NPP government, suffered disappearances. Yet, the government continues to display indifference toward strengthening the OMP, providing justice for the affected families, and ensuring the distribution of interim relief allowances.
It is entirely unacceptable that Cabinet approval has been delayed for months.
Therefore, we urgently request the following actions:
1. Immediate Cabinet approval for the OMP to conduct investigations and disburse the Rs. 200,000 allowance to affected families.
2. Government intervention to ensure the OMP conducts 5,000 investigations within the next six months and submits relevant recommendations to the Office for Reparations.
3. Timely distribution of the full amount allocated for this purpose in the last budget to the affected families.
4. Expedited recruitment of the necessary staff for the OMP.
Additionally, we request a formal written response detailing the actions taken regarding our demands. At the very least, Cabinet approval for OMP investigations must be granted before June 10th.
Brito Fernando
Chairman
Families of the Disappeared
Copies:
1. Comrade President
2. Comrade Prime Minister
3. Comrade Minister of Foreign Affairs
4. Office for Missing Persons
5. Office for Reparations
6. Office for National Integration and Reconciliation
7. Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka
8. Comrade Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)
(Adopted from a Sinhala language letter published on the Facebook page of FOD, Families of the Disappeared.)