No new disappearance cases reported in Sri Lanka – US Report

The 2024 US State Department Human Rights Report states that there were no new reports of enforced disappearances in Sri Lanka over the past year. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP) confirmed it had not received any new complaints during the period.

Despite the lack of new reports, the US highlighted that there has been little progress in investigating war-time abuses from the 1983–2009 civil conflict and the 1988–89 insurrection. Families of the disappeared remain frustrated with the absence of answers and accountability.

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), in a report to the UN Human Rights Council, said the OMP focused more on administrative tasks like verifying aid eligibility and closing files, rather than investigations. It warned that this approach placed a burden on victim families and risked retraumatization.

As of July, the Sri Lankan government reported disbursing Rs. 40.6 million (about \$126,000) to 203 families of missing persons, mainly from the Northern and Eastern provinces. The OHCHR questioned whether the OMP had the technical and financial capacity to conduct credible exhumations and forensic investigations.

There are 15 suspected mass graves pending investigation across the country. At one site in Kokkuthoduvai, Mullaitivu, 52 skeletal remains were exhumed during excavations held in July. The OMP said the grave likely dates to 1994–96 and includes former LTTE cadres. A local rights group reported signs of violence on the bodies.

No updates were reported in the high-profile “Navy 11” case involving the 2008–09 disappearance of 11 youth in Colombo. Former Navy Commander Wasantha Karannagoda has been linked to the case.

The report also flagged arbitrary killings, torture, detention without trial, transnational repression, and ongoing threats to press freedom. The US said the government had taken only limited steps to investigate or punish those responsible for abuses.