Ceylon Today Editorial

UNHRC kudos for GoSL

15 September 2016

United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) website said that among the several issues being taken at its current sessions which opened in Geneva Tuesday is the issue on Sri Lanka.

That subject will revolve round the report of the 'Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on its mission to Sri Lanka-Note by the Secretariat' and 'comments by the State (Sri Lanka)' on this report.

As reported by this newspaper on its Monday's edition, the period covered will span a little over a year, i.e. from 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016. The period covered starts just a little over four months after the present Yahapalana Government co-led by United People's Freedom Alliance-Sri Lanka Freedom Party Leader and the President of the country Maithripala Sirisena was elected to power on 8 January 2015, followed by the appointment of United National Party-United National Front (UNP-UNF) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Premier on that same day.

The duo continues to lead the country to date, solidifying their leadership after the UNP-UNF swept the Parliamentary Polls held seven months later, on 17 August 2015.
The UNHRC sessions do not cover the controversial period, i.e. towards the tail end of the Government of Sri Lanka's (GoSL's) war with the Tamil Tiger terrorists, spanning a four month period from January 2009 till the end of that war on 17 May 2009, where much of those alleged disappearances did take place.

And those alleged disappearances took place during previous regime. But this Session is with reference to peacetime disappearances.

Even is such disappearances that took place during the review period, i.e. from 16 May 2015 to 18 May 2016, such disappearances would not have had received sanction from above, i.e. either from Sirisena or from Wickremesinghe.
The new government recently introduced the Office of the Missing Persons (OMP), by statute. This Act was welcomed by the Global Tamil Forum, comprising the country's Tamilian Diaspora (see srilankabrief.org), many of whom were affected during the Tamil terrorist conflict, though not necessarily by the terrorists only, but also due to the activities of the government and its security forces and the Police.

Further, the setting-up of this office has been welcomed by the UK (see adaderana.lk), where a sizeable number of the Tamil Diaspora live and where Whitehall has been advocating justice for the disappeared in this war, which crystallized when former Premier David Cameron visited Sri Lanka in 2013 during the Rajapaksa regime, to participate in the Commonwealth sessions.
Cameron, during that visit took part of the international press corps to Jaffna, much to Rajapaksa's chagrin, so that they would be able to gain a first-hand knowledge on the Jaffna situation and of its citizens who faced the brunt of Sri Lanka's 26-year-old Tamil terrorist war.

Though a copy of the OMP Act was not immediately available, a guide to its draft, in a publication by the Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that some of the salient features of that Bill were: 'Receive complaints relating to missing persons from any relative of a missing person, or any other person or organization.

Initiate an inquiry or investigation into disappearances pursuant to either a complaint or information provided by previous Commissions. Priority will be given to cases that are of public importance, most recent or that have substantial evidence already available. Take necessary steps to investigate cases effectively by procuring and receiving any statements, either written, oral, or through the use of video conferencing facilities or cameras, while maintaining a high level of confidentiality. The recently enacted Right to Information Act does not apply to the OMP (Clause 25).

Power to summon any person to be present before the OMP to provide a statement or produce a document in their possession. Apply to the appropriate Magistrate's Court to carry out an excavation and/or exhumation of suspected grave sites and to be able to act as an observer at such proceedings. Request assistance necessary for the achieving of its mandate from any State, governmental or local authority or agent.

Authorize an OMP officer to enter without a warrant and investigate suspected places of detention or to make an application to the Magistrate for the issuance of a search warrant to enable Police to search suspected premises and procure evidence that is necessary for the investigation conducted by the OMP. Refer cases falling outside the mandate of the OMP to the Police or relevant law enforcement authority. Hand over reports containing information on a missing person if an offence has been committed that warrants an investigation. Provided a witness consents, the OMP may also inform the relevant authority of the details of such witness in order to enable such relevant authority to secure a statement from such witness to be used in the process of investigation.'

Now that an institution has been established to specifically investigate missing persons, GoSL is bound to receive bouquets and accolades at the current UNHRC sessions.