11,000 Missing Persons Cases: Government Sets Two-Year Timeline

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara has acknowledged the scale of Sri Lanka’s unresolved missing persons crisis, revealing that nearly 11,000 complaints are currently on record, with investigations expected to be concluded within the next two years.

Speaking to journalists following a recent workshop, the Minister addressed growing public concern over the slow pace of investigations, noting that many families have expressed frustration at the lack of visible progress in long-standing cases. He emphasized, however, that responsibility for these delays lies primarily with previous administrations rather than the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which was established to address the issue.

Minister Nanayakkara defended the role of the OMP, stating that the institution has been constrained by limited resources in the past. To strengthen its operational capacity, the government has now allocated funds to train 375 officers attached to the OMP, a move aimed at accelerating investigations and improving professionalism within the process.

According to the Minister, significant progress is expected in the coming months. He announced that investigations into approximately 5,000 missing persons complaints are scheduled to be completed within this year alone, marking what he described as a major step forward in addressing the issue.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to impartiality, Minister Nanayakkara stressed that investigations will cover cases from both the Northern and Southern regions of the country, ensuring that no community is excluded.

“We will investigate disappearances without discrimination whether they occurred in the north or the south,” he said, underscoring the administration’s intention to deliver accountability and closure to affected families.

The announcement comes amid renewed calls from civil society groups and families of the disappeared for transparent, timely, and credible investigations into one of the country’s most sensitive human rights concerns.