UN rights office urges Sri Lanka to reveal fate of the disappeared

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday urged the Sri Lankan Government to take decisive action to uncover the fates and locations of tens of thousands of individuals subjected to enforced disappearances over the years and to hold those responsible accountable.

The call accompanies the launch of a key report Opens in new window by OHCHR
Opens in new window, highlighting also the need for the Government to acknowledge the involvement of State security forces and to issue a public apology.

From the 1970s to 2009, Sri Lanka witnessed widespread enforced disappearances, predominantly carried out by the national army and associated paramilitary groups.  

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also participated in abductions, which, according to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, tantamount to enforced disappearances.

OHCHR noted that despite some formal measures by successive governments, such as ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and establishing the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations, “tangible progress on the ground towards comprehensively resolving individual cases has remained limited.”