The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has managed to locate 16 individuals reported missing since 2000, out of approximately 6,000 inquiries completed since December 2022.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, OMP Chairman Mahesh Katulanda stated that although these individuals had been found alive, they had chosen not to disclose their identities or locations.
“Under the OMP Act, we are prohibited from revealing their identities without their consent,” he explained.
Katulanda further noted that out of the 14,998 complaints of missing persons lodged with the OMP, roughly 6,000 cases had been processed over the past two years.
The OMP has also submitted a proposal to the Cabinet to initiate inquiries into complaints of individuals who went missing before 2000.
According to Katulanda, the OMP, established in 2018, had only completed around 67 inquiries until 2022.
He said significant progress had been made in the past two years, with approximately 6,000 cases investigated.
The OMP Act, passed by Parliament on 11 August 2016, led to the operationalisation of the OMP on 28 February 2018, when then President Maithripala Sirisena appointed seven commissioners, including Saliya Pieris, PC, based on recommendations from the Constitutional Council.
According to the draft 2023 OMP Annual Report, Phase 1 of the Complaints Categorisation had included 6,025 cases. By the end of 2023, the OMP had conducted 5,791 inquiries, with 2,832 of those completed within the year.
Following these investigations, 718 files had been forwarded to the Registrar General with recommendations, and 2,101 cases had been sent to the Reparations Office for further action.
A total of 1,221 inquiries are yet to be completed under Phase 1, including 1,111 absentee cases, to fully conclude this phase by the upcoming year.
The OMP’s Legal Unit oversees all activities, from initiating investigations to implementing recommendations. The Legal, Policy, and Research Unit led the majority of inquiries in 2023.
The OMP’s 2023 budget allocation amounted to Rs. 115 million, according to the report.