Office on Missing Persons

Office on Missing Persons (OMP)-Sri Lanka
Agency overview
Formed15 September 2017; 7 years ago (2017-09-15)
JurisdictionSri Lanka
HeadquartersNo. 40, Level 03,
Buthgamuwa Road, Rajagiriya, Colombo District, Sri Lanka
Annual budgetRs 1.3 Billion (2018)
Agency executive
Parent departmentMinistry of Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms
Key documents
Websitewww.omp.gov.lk

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP)' is a Sri Lankan government department tasked with bringing closure to suffering victims and their relatives by determining the status of all missing persons in Sri Lanka. It is the first pillar of four "Transitional Justice mechanisms" proposed by the Sirisena–Wickremesinghe administration in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War.[1][2] The Office On Missing Persons (Establishment, Administration And Discharge Of Functions) Act, No. 14 of 2016 provides for:

"...the establishment of the office on missing persons; to provide for the searching and tracing of missing persons; to provide assistance to relatives of missing persons; for the setting up of a database of missing persons; for setting out the procedures and guidelines applicable to the powers and functions assigned to the said office; and to provide for all matters which are connected with or incidental to, the implementation of the provisions of this act.[3]

Anywhere between 16,000 and 20,000 people are thought to be missing in Sri Lanka.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Sunday Times 2018.
  2. ^ Daily News 2018.
  3. ^ Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka 2016, pp. 1.
  4. ^ Secretariat for Coordinating Reconciliation Mechanisms 2018.
  5. ^ Ministry of National Integration & Reconciliation 2018.
  6. ^ The Hindu 2018.