Laws related to disappearances in Sri Lanka

• Fundamental Rights: Article 13 of the Sri Lankan Constitution guarantees the right to life and liberty, which is relevant to addressing enforced disappearances.

Customary International Humanitarian Law

• Context: During the conflict, enforced disappearances could be classified as violations of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which Sri Lanka is bound by as a party to the Geneva Conventions.

• Sections Relevant to Abduction and Wrongful Confinement:

o Section 355: Defines the offense of abduction and prescribes punishment.

o Section 358: Deals with wrongful confinement, which can be linked to disappearances.

• Ratification: Sri Lanka ratified the ICPED on May 25, 2016.

• Obligations: The convention obliges the state to prevent and punish enforced disappearances and to ensure that no one is subject to secret detention.

• Purpose: This act incorporates the provisions of the ICPED into domestic law.

• Criminalization: Enforced disappearance is made a criminal offense under Sri Lankan law, punishable by imprisonment.

• Accountability: It mandates that those responsible for enforced disappearances are brought to justice and provides for the protection of witnesses and victims.

• Purpose: Establishes the Office for Reparations to provide redress for individuals and communities affected by conflict, human rights violations, and other serious harms.

• Functions: Identifying eligible victims, implementing reparation programs (financial compensation, restitution, psycho-social support), and making policy recommendations to the government to ensure adequate and effective reparations.

• Purpose: Establishes the Office on Missing Persons, a permanent and independent body to search for and trace missing persons in Sri Lanka.

• Functions: Investigating cases of missing persons, making recommendations for reparations, and ensuring accountability.

• Mandate: HRCSL is tasked with investigating and making recommendations on human rights violations, including enforced disappearances.

• Powers: The Commission can inquire into complaints, summon witnesses, and ensure the rights of the disappeared and their families are protected.

• Purpose: This law allows for the registration of death based on a presumption for individuals reported missing or disappeared.

• Implication: It aids families of the disappeared to settle legal and administrative matters, although it has been criticized for possibly undermining accountability efforts.

• Purpose: Provides legal protection and assistance to victims of crime and witnesses, ensuring their safety and encouraging their participation in legal and reparative processes without fear of retribution.

• Functions: Establishes a framework for protecting the identities and safety of victims and witnesses, creates the Victims of Crime and Witnesses Assistance and Protection Division, and mandates law enforcement and judicial authorities to safeguard those involved in legal proceedings, including those participating in reparation processes.