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Sri Lanka to sign international convention to protect citizens from enforced disappearances

Xinhua, December 10, 2015 Adjust font size:

Sri Lanka's cabinet of ministers on Thursday agreed to be a part of an international convention to protect its citizens from enforced disappearances, Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.

In a weekly media briefing here, Senaratne said that on a proposal made by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, Sri Lanka had agreed to sign the 'International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances' and ratify it in Sri Lanka.

"This convention has defined enforced disappearance as a violation of human rights and considered it as a criminal offence and has made its member states to draft legislations based on these principles," Senaratne said.

"So far 94 states have signed the convention and 51 states have ratified it," he added.

The Minister further said that the Sri Lankan cabinet had agreed to sign and ratify the convention according to the mandate received by the new government which came into power after a August parliamentary election.

Sri Lankan investigators have already launched investigations into thousands of people who have been missing during and after a 30 year civil war between government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels which ended in May 2009.

Some high profile figures including journalists have also disappeared during the previous Mahinda Rajapakse regime with the new government now vowing to probe the whereabouts of these people. Endit