COLOMBO: A UN working group probing disappearances of people affected by the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka will conclude its week-long mission tomorrow, officials said.
During the mission, experts from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) studied measures adopted by the state to prevent and eradicate enforced disappearances, including issues related to truth, justice and reparation for victims of enforced disappearances.
They were also looking to gather information on cases of enforced disappearances, including those pending before the Working Group.
The WGEID accepts complaints of disappearances from families and those representing families, assesses the complaints against its criteria of an enforced disappearance and transmits the cases to the government concerned.
They toured the former north and east conflict zones for assessment. The Dead and Missing Persons Parents Front (DMPPF) handed over documents containing details of over 5,000 persons of security forces and the police who had disappeared, DMPPF chairman Ananda Jayamanne said.
This is WGEID's fourth Sri Lanka visit and the first since 1999. The country was ranked second globally by the WGEID in the number of disappearances during the three-decade Sri Lankan civil war against the LTTE that ended in 2009.
They have reported over 12,300 cases of disappearances to the government and over 6,500 of them were clarified.