The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has decided to work with the Sri Lankan government in assisting the families of those reported missing during the nearly three-decade long separatist conflict in the country, foreign ministry said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a meeting with the the ICRC delegation in Colombo and discussed the pressing issue of nearly 20,000 complaints of missing individual cases the government has received since 2013.
The ministry outlined the various steps taken by the government so far to deal with issues relating to the missing, including the plan to issue Certificates of Absence which will allow the relatives to proceed with legal procedures.

The government had also allowed the visit of the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) and signed the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances, the statement said.