The National Peace Council says the inaction of government due to the ongoing political crisis involving the coalition partners in the National Unity Government continues to erode public confidence in its problem solving capacities.
This concern is especially marked in regard to the transitional justice process. So far only the Office of Missing Persons (OMP), which is one of the four transitional justice mechanisms promised in October 2015 has been established, the NPC said in a statement.
The Chairman of the Office of Missing Persons, Saliya Peiris PC, has announced that beginning May 12, 2018, the OMP will meet the public including family members of the disappeared. He said arrangements had been made to hold public meetings countrywide till early July. He also said they were still in the process of recruiting staff and setting up procedures.
The National Peace Council notes that progress in operationalising the OMP has been slow even though it was constituted by the appointment of commissioners in February this year. The commissioners need to be supported by investigators, report writers and administrative staff. The government needs to take a genuinely victim-centered approach to prioritize these issues that will make a real difference to victim families in the short to medium term.
NPC is concerned that the continued delay in operationalising the OMP, and establishing the other transitional justice mechanisms, will erode the confidence of war victims, the larger Sri Lankan public and international community, in the government’s seriousness of purpose with regard to the transitional justice process.