Much remains to be done

We welcome Sri Lanka’s continued progress on implementing resolution 30/1, most recently through the law to establish an Office of Missing Persons. This is a significant step towards reconciliation.

However, much remains to be done including: repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act; releasing more civilian land occupied by the military; delivering on the commitment to devolve political authority through constitutional reform; and putting in place credible transitional justice mechanisms.

We remain committed to the full implementation of resolution 30/1 and stand ready to help the Sri Lankan Government with this.

The Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka said the Government has embarked on a comprehensive public policy based on a participatory framework with the objective of ensuring the right to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non- recurrence. In this regard, the Government has already taken concrete legislative and policy measures to translate its promises to the people of Sri Lanka, into action even amidst the many challenges being posed by certain extreme elements who attempt to pose obstacles to the Government’s sincere efforts at ensuring that the rights of all persons are promoted and protected and recurrence of violations that happened in the past are prevented.

Houria Es-Slami the Chair of the working group on enforced disappearances said challenge facing the Government of Sri Lanka is to transform its promises into a concrete, comprehensive, legitimate and participatory framework aimed at securing the rights to truth, justice, reparation and memory, and guarantees of non – repetition for the families of the disappeared and Sri Lankan society as a whole, in the context of a reconciliation process

encourage Sri Lanka to increase its efforts to render the involvement of civil society in the transitional justice process more participatory and to make clear progress in the justice area,
including in terms of the international involvement in the accountability process.

The Working Group stands ready to continue closely cooperating with the Government of Sri Lanka and to provide its technical assistance as appropriate.