• Nearly 17,000 active disappearance cases still under review

The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) has recommended the issuance of 2,716 Certificates of Absence (CoA) to the Registrar General’s Department for families of missing persons, even as civil registration services continue to face disruptions following a recent operational breakdown.

OMP Chairman Mahesh Katulanda told The Daily Morning the office has so far issued 278 CoAs and 57 Certificates of Death (CoD), while forwarding recommendations for 2,716 additional CoAs to the Registrar General’s Department.

He said the OMP is currently handling 16,988 active cases of forcibly disappeared civilians, while assistance has already been extended to about 6,700 families.

According to Katulanda, the CA allows relatives of missing or disappeared persons to exercise certain legal rights on their behalf, including access to welfare benefits and other administrative services.

He clarified that obtaining a CoA does not hinder or terminate ongoing investigations into the whereabouts of missing persons.

Katulanda further noted that recommendations have also been made to issue another 464 Certificates of Death. “We have issued the necessary recommendations to the Registrar General’s Department, and they are currently processing the relevant documents,” he said.

The OMP was established under Act No. 14 of 2016 to address cases of enforced disappearances. Since the end of the civil war in 2009, the office has received more than 23,000 complaints. After removing duplicate and multiple entries, the number has been revised to around 20,730 cases.