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Truth & Justice

Proposal for the Office for Missing Persons (OMP)

The OMP is envisioned to respond to the needs of
people across Sri Lanka, who cannot locate their
relatives and loved ones and suspect that they went
missing as a result of the conflict in the North and
East, (including those missing in action), civil
disturbances or political unrest. Sri Lanka has a history
in which it has recognized the needs of families of the
missing, but up to date the services provided have not
been sufficient. The OMP will be the first of the
offices set up in response to the need for post-conflict
transitional justice and the States obligation to its
people.
Recommendations for the OMP include that it
should:
Be established by an Act of Parliament;
Be a permanent structure that will attend to grievances
related to the missing, no matter when they occurred;
Have the power to establish offices in different regions;
Be independent, and comprise of members appointed
by the President on the recommendation of the
Constitutional Council;
Have financial autonomy;
Be able to absorb data collected by other Commissions.

Through this process the Government hopes that

victims will finally be able to access the services they
require, whether legal, administrative or psychosocial,
and be able to discover the fate of their loved ones.
It has been recommended that the OMP will differ from
previous bodies by being constituted at the highest level,
and having a great degree of independence, with units
dedicated to the search and tracing of missing persons
and victim and witness protection.
The Commissioners in this high-powered office will be
of the highest moral integrity, and must take all measures
necessary to trace, find, and reduce the incidence of
missing persons, to protect their rights and interests, and
to identify the right avenues for redress for these
individuals.
The OMP will be tasked with providing annual reports
to the public on their activities and findings to increase
awareness & to provide recommendations that will
prevent future disappearances. Reparations and urgent
relief for those affected will be provided through a new
and separate entity with dedicated expertise, in order to
ensure transparency and fair treatment for all victims.

The OMP is not a judicial

mechanism - prosecutions will be
addressed by another mechanism.
However, the OMP will in no way
impede a victims right to justice. All
victims appearing before the OMP
will be notified of their inalienable
right to appear before a prosecuting
authority and seek justice. The OMP
will serve the victims right to know
and investigations will not be
focused on the establishment of
guilt, as in a court of law, but rather
on the discovery of the fate of the
missing. This approach guarantees
protection
for
confidential
disclosures to the OMP, in the hope
of eliciting useful information.
If there is suspected criminal activity,
the OMP will pass on the civil status
information of the missing person to
a relevant authority, which will
conduct the appropriate criminal
investigation. The testimonies of
witnesses, with their consent, can
also be passed on to the relevant
authorities. If a magistrate is
requested to conduct an exhumation
of a grave, or a law enforcement
authority is requested to carry out a
search, then the information
uncovered
in
these
further
investigations can also be used by
the prosecuting authority.

Recommended Powers
Procuring and receiving
statements, written or oral, from
any person;
Summoning any person residing in
Sri Lanka to be present before the
OMP to provide a statement or
produce any document or other
thing in his possession;
Admitting any statement or
material, whether written or oral,
which might be inadmissible in
civil or criminal proceedings;
Establishing means to accept
information anonymously or in
camera, should it be required, to
help ensure personal security for
victims and witnesses;
Making its own guidelines & bylaws, pertaining to quorum and
internal dispute mechanisms;
Appointing staff and consultants
and to requesting secondment of
public officers;
Establishing divisions and/or
units and delegating powers and
functions as needed;
Requesting assistance from State
bodies;

Entering into agreements with any

person or organization, whether
domestic or foreign, for the
purposes of securing information,
databases, technical support and
training, forensic or other
expertise and collaboration, in
respect of confidentiality of
information;
Entering at any time, any place of
detention, police station, prison or
any other place in which any
person is suspected to be detained
and make examinations;
Requesting a Magistrate having
territorial jurisdiction over a
suspected grave site to carry out
an excavation and/or exhumation
and to act as an observer;
Passing on cases not within its
mandate to the relevant authority.

Recommended
Duties & Functions
Discretion to grant regular
updates to relatives who have
complained of missing persons
Clarifying the circumstances in
which a person went missing
Facilitating the grant of
certificates of absence and
certificates of death
Developing systems and
measures to ensure that victims
and witnesses are protected
Creating a conducive
environment for the disclosure
of information to the OMP

Offences to OMP
Failing to comply, without due
cause, with orders of the OMP,
or obstructing/interfering in the
OMPs work
Threatening, intimidating or
improperly influencing, any
person who has co-operated, or
is intending to cooperate with
the OMP

Secretariat for Coordinating

Reconciliation Mechanisms
Republic Building,
Sir Baron Jayathilake Mawatha,
Colombo 01,
Sri Lanka
Tel: (+94) 115 920 029
Email: contact@scrm.gov.lk