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UN welcomes asking families to help identify mass graves items
View(s):By Kapila Bandara
Sri Lanka drew a renewed commitment from the United Nations for reviving the search for justice and closure for the forcefully disappeared during past domestic armed conflicts.
UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc André Franche, referenced the many mass graves including Chemmani that “expose the magnitude of past abuses’’ and noted justice denied to traumatised families.Mr André Franche, a UN veteran of 24 years, made the remarks in solidarity with families of the disappeared at a commemoration of the International Day of Disappearances at Temple Trees where they gathered.
A protest by relatives of enforced missing persons in Jaffna yesterday
It was organised by the Ministry of Justice and National Integration, and the Office on Missing Persons. Minister of Justice Harshana Nanayakkara attended.
Mr André Franche,welcomed the recent decision to invite people to help identify items recovered from mass graves, but cautioned that “much more needs to be done’’.
He also said: “This year, we have seen renewed attention to this unresolved legacy with the ongoing excavations of mass grave sites. The recovery of human skeletal remains and personal belongings from these sites, including those of children, is a stark reminder of the scale of past grave human rights violations and the urgent need for credible, transparent and independent investigations.’’
UN records show 6,306 outstanding cases of enforced disappearances.
Sri Lanka had one the world’s highest number of disappearances of between 60,000 and 100,000 taken without a trace since the late 1980s, other unverified reports say.
Mr André Franche, also noted the surveillance, threats, intimidation and reprisals faced by victims, families, and human rights defenders including in connection with memorialisation activities. All those engaged in exercising their rights must be protected, not punished, he insisted.
He welcomed measures taken to address the painful legacy, including 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.
“These bodies must be supported with the resources, forensics and tracing capacity, and independence needed to deliver justice. ‘’
The OMP, in particular, should prioritise tracing and investigation, using its full legal powers to deliver answers for families of the disappeared.
Last September, the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, said it regrets that neither a judicial accountability mechanism nor a truth seeking mechanism have been created in
Sri Lanka. It said a few emblematic cases have reached the trial stage and none has ended.
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