OMP

Image: On the memorial wall,  International day for the disappeared 2019, Colombo, Sri Lanka. In a televised statement issued on 28 June 2020 Prime Minister Rajapaksa called for a strong mandate to defeat domestic and foreign conspirators and to overturn the Office for Missing Persons and national laws related to international Convention Against Enforced Disappearances. […]

In a meeting with the Tamil National Alliance today in Colombo, Rep. Ami Bera assured that the United States will do all things possible to ensure that the Government of Sri Lanka delivers on its commitments to the International Community. Rep. Ami Bera  is a Member of Congress and Chairman, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on […]

Image: A father has written his disappeared son’s name on a remembrance wall, Malidu Liyanage David and the day of the disappearance.  © sunanda deshapriya The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has commenced issuing Interim Reports to families of the missing and disappeared in order to obtain a Certificate of Absence (CoA), Saliya Pieris P.C. […]

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) was established under the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration, and Discharge of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016, and has a mandate to establish the fate of persons who went missing or disappeared in connection with the conflict, political unrest or civil disturbances or as a result of […]

Unrealized government commitments to pursue truth, justice and reparations, continued impunity for violations and abuses, compromised freedoms of religion and expression characterized 2019 for Sri Lanka, Amnesty International said as the human rights organization released its annual report on events in the Asia-Pacific region. Human Rights in Asia-Pacific: Review of 2019 published today by Amnesty International […]

(January 26, 2020) Last week, President Gotabaya Rajapakse had told U.N. Resident Coordinator Ms. Hanaa Singer that those reported missing from the war are “actually dead” and that the government would soon issue death certificates. Although the President has since clarified that death certificates will follow proper investigations, his remarks are an affront to mothers, […]

(OFFICE ON MISSING PERSONS/MEDIA RELEASE/15 January 2020) Recent media reports have claimed that the government plans to review the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act No. 14 of 2016 (the Act) with a view to amending the same. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) officially communicated its position by letters […]

Image: On the International Day of the Disappeared, 30 August, Colombo. © Sunanda Deshapriya. The OMP made such progress amidst an array of challenges including lack of cooperation from key state actors and continuous efforts to deny the rights of families of the missing and disappeared, says Saliya Pieris P. C. , Chairperson, Office on Missing Persons issuing a […]

Image: Trinco Navy camp where abducted 11 youth were held. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has decided to raise their concerns with President Maithripala Sirisena on the recent confirmation of rank granted by the Sri Lanka Navy to Commodore D.K.P Dassanayake. The former Navy Spokesman, Dassanayake is one of the main suspects connected to […]

Image: The placard asks by implication: When will you start issuing ‘Certificate of Absence’ (CoA) ©Sunanda Deshapriya. The Government has extended, by two more years, legal provisions that enable issuance of a ‘Certificate of Absence’ (CoA) to families of war-time missing and disappeared persons. The Registrar-General’s Department issued a Gazette Extraordinary last Wednesday to extend the effective […]

Image: Families of the disappeared gathered in front of UN, Colombo and handed over a memorandum. © Sunanda Deshapriya. August 30 was the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Despite Government figures indicating more than 65,000 complaints of disappearances in Sri Lanka, for most Sri Lankans, most media and the Government, it was just […]

On the tenth anniversary of the end of Sri Lanka’s three decade-long internal armed conflict, Amnesty International calls on the government of Sri Lanka to end impunity and put accountability for crimes under international law and human rights violations and abuses at the heart of its transitional justice process. The horrific Easter Sunday attacks on […]

Image; Families of the disappeared persons continue their campaign for justice.  (Colombo Gazette/March 11, 2019 ) The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) welcomes the inclusion of its interim relief proposals in the 2019 Budget. On 5 March 2019, the Government proposed the allocation of Rs. 500 million in the 2019 Budget, to provide Rs 6,000 monthly […]

Executive Summary: The establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) marks a significant milestone in the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to address the issues of the missing and the disappeared. Established under the Office on Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration and Discharge of Functions) Act No. 14 of 2016 as an independent commission, the […]

In its first interim report, the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) recommended the government to suspend state officials including members of the armed forces and police who were named as suspects or accused in criminal actions relating to abductions and enforced disappearances, pending the final determination of such cases. The OMP report said the government […]

5. Urgent Recommendations 40. A key objective of the OMP is to make recommendations to relevant authorities in order to reduce the number of incidents of missing persons and identify avenues of redress that take into account the best interest of the victims and the families. Specifically, the OMP is empowered to make recommendations with […]

(Friday, August 31, 2018.) The Office of Missing Persons (OMP) recommends the Government to pay a subsistence allowance to the family members of the missing persons, OMP Chairman Saliya Peiris PC said. The Chairman was addressing an event at the J R Jayewardene Center in Colombo yesterday to mark the ‘International Day of the Victims of […]

Image: Protesters blocked  the entrance to the OMP meeting in Kilinochchi. (Vikalpa photo) The government has established an Office of Missing Persons (OMP) and is now in the process of passing legislation to establish an Office for Reparations as part of its commitment to ensure post war reconciliation.  The government promised to set up these mechanisms, […]

Image:  by SP Pushpakanthan. Can the Office of Missing Persons provide answers in a country with the world’s second highest number of disappearances? by Drew Ambrose & Sarah Yeo 21 hours ago Sasikumar Ranginithevi can’t hide her tears as she looks at four faded photographs in her trembling hands. Two brothers, a husband and her […]

Image:Ravinatha Aryasinha. Speaking at the adoption of Sri Lanka UPR report at the 37th session of the UNHRC, Permanent Representative Ambassador   to the UN, Geneva listed human  rights achievements of the present government. They include: Acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, and designated the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka as the […]

Image: United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman meeting with TNA. ( Asian tribune) On March 11, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman concluded a three-day visit to Sri Lanka. His trip was planned as part of the ongoing strong engagement between the Government and people of Sri Lanka and the United Nations. […]

Image: Jeffrey Feltman addresses a press conference in Colombo on March 3, 2015.  LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI/AFP/GETTY/CBS. (AFP) The UN’s political chief on Sunday condemned anti-Muslim violence that has targeted mosques and businesses in Sri Lanka as he wrapped up a three-day visit to the Indian Ocean island-nation. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman urged the government to […]

Image: Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu  ( Lake house photo) The aftermath of the local government election has been fraught with political tension and the uncertainties of coalition politics. Leading civil society activist and Secretary of the Consultative Task Force on Reconciliation mechanisms, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu says these confusions must not be allowed to overshadow the 2015 mandate […]

Image: President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris, has been now appointed as the Chairperson of the OMP, government controlled Daily News reports.  Mr. Saliya Peries  was not among the  constitutional council selected seven members to the OMP in December 2017  but president Sirisena included him out side the due process. Saliya Peries has recently […]

Image: A protesting mother showing the mobile phone number her son called her in 2012 from undisclosed detention center. ( Vikalpa photo) (February 20, 2018)  Today marks one year since Families of the Disappeared took to the road in Kilinochchi, Marunthankerny (Jaffna), Vavuniya, Trincomalee and Mullaitivu demanding answers about the fate of their disappeared loved […]

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) is one of the four mechanisms that the government promised in its ‘comprehensive approach to dealing with the past’. While the OMP is the only mechanism on which any formal progress has been made in the 28 months that have passed since the government announced its plan; even this […]

At the recently concluded 21st meeting of the European Union-Sri Lanka Joint Commission  Sri Lanka’s reaffirmed commitment to establishing the remaining mechanisms aimed at truth seeking, reconciliation, reparation, and justice, on which the EU urged for prompt action. The full text of the Joint Press Release following the 21st meeting of the European Union-Sri Lanka Joint Commission […]

(SLB/19th Dec 2017) According to informed sources president Sirisena has not approved the nominated  list of commissioners  by the Constitutional Council (CC) for the Office of the Mission Persons (OMP). Instead he as referred the list back to the CC for a review. The CC had finalised the selections of nearly 100 applicants to posts […]

Image: Dr. Nimalka Fernando speaking at the side event. ©s.deshapriya. Speaking at a side event at  36th session of the UNHRC, Dr. Nimalka Fernando, chair of the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) stated that ‘the international promises made by the Sri Lanka government  must be absorbed into the UPR to prevent […]

Image:  Zeid teld Sirisena that he  will be more satisfied if this journey of Sri Lankan government will be speeded up.(Photo credit :PMD) (PMD News) Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process is proceeded step by step – President to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights President Maithripala Sirisena says Sri Lanka is performing for the betterment of its people with […]