• The Registrar General will issue the certification of death or the missing subsequent to conducting proper investigations in relation to missing persons and also pay Rs.100,000 for the closest relative of the family

 By Sandun A. Jayasekera 

 While the UNHRC is breathing down the neck of the government for its failure to address grievances of families of missing persons, the government has decided to pay Rs.100,000 to the next of kin of missing persons and also to issue a ‘death certificate’ or a ‘certificate of missing’.  

 Accordingly, relevant policies have been formulated to assist in rehabilitation of the lives of individuals affected by grievances under various circumstances, according to the compensation policies and guidelines, the Daily Mirror learns.  
 The affected families should be aided subject to the policies already formulated to enable the promotion of reconciliation for all Sri Lankans with security including the future generation.  
 The Registrar General will issue the certification of death or the missing subsequent to conducting proper investigations in relation to missing persons and also pay Rs.100,000 for the closest relative of the family of the missing person who possess a certification of the missing person issued by the Registrar General for the rehabilitation of family depending on the particulars revealed by the office of the missing persons was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.   

 Families of missing persons will also be issued with state lands if they have lost their lands during the conflict or there are disputes to the land own by them right now. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has been established in accordance with the provisions of Act No. 14 of 2016. Regional offices have been established in Matara, Mannar, Jaffna, Batticaloa and Kilinochchi and have received 14, 988 complaints on missing persons up to now.   
The government has also approved to appoint 25 Boards of Inquiry to expedite the investigation of these complaints and to implement an expeditious programme on missing persons following the strictures issued by the UNHRC at the ongoing sessions in Geneva.