News
UN reiterates concerns about missing persons
The UN has called on Lankan authorities to accelerate efforts to ascertain the fate or whereabouts of victims of enforced disappearances and to provide reparations to those who have suffered, and to hold perpetrators accountable.
UN resident coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche in a statement issued to mark the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances on Wednesday, said: Enforced disappearances have left a painful scar on the nation’s history and continue to shape the lives of thousands of Sri Lankans who exist in a state of ambiguity, where their loved ones are neither present nor definitively absent. With little progress in the last decades, families in Sri Lanka are struggling more than ever to learn the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones. Their relentless pursuit for answers has often exposed them to further victimization – intimidation, stigma, and marginalization.
As the world marks the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, our thoughts turn to the victims of this heinous crime and those who have suffered the anguish of not knowing the fate of their loved ones. This day resonates deeply in Sri Lanka, where many families and communities across the country have endured years of uncertainty and suffering, forced to live in the shadows of unanswered questions.
In recent years, Sri Lanka took some important steps towards addressing the legacy of enforced disappearances. The signing of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) in 2015 and the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) were important milestones. The “List of Complaints and Information Regarding Missing and Disappeared Persons,” received and published by the OMP, has served as a foundation upon which we measure progress in delivering justice.
Yet, much remains to be done to ensure the victims’ rights to the truth, to justice, and to reparations. We call on the authorities to accelerate efforts to ascertain the fate or whereabouts of victims, to provide reparations to those who have suffered, and to hold perpetrators accountable. Establishing the truth is essential for victims, survivors, and families as well as for the society at large, for it is through truth that healing can begin and the process of reconciliation can start.
The United Nations stands in solidarity with the victims and families of enforced disappearances and reiterates its support to the relatives of the forcibly disappeared in their struggle for truth, justice, and reparation.
As we mark this day, let us renew our dedication to ensuring that enforced disappearances become relics of the past. Let us stand up for the rights of victims, uphold the principles of justice, and forge a future where no family is left in the grip of uncertainty. Addressing this legacy is not only a matter of justice but an essential foundation for Sri Lanka to chart a path of progress and sustainable development.
During an operation conducted in the dark hours of 22 Feb 26, the Sri Lanka Navy seized an Indian fishing boat and apprehended twelve (12) Indian fishermen while they were poaching in Sri Lankan waters, in the sea area south of Mannar.
The seized boat and the Indian fishermen were handed over to the Fisheries Inspector of Dikovita for onward legal proceedings.
FSL assures legal backing for them
Families of those sentenced to death by the Three-member Gampaha High Trial-at-Bar, over the killing of SLPP MP Amarakeerthi Atukorale, and his police bodyguard, met a senior official of the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (23), to seek backing for their move to appeal against the verdict.
Having made representations, they addressed the media, outside the Presidential Secretariat, where they declared their intention to move the higher court against the decision.
The SLPP MP and his security officer were killed by an Aragalaya mob on 09 May, 2022, at Nittambuwa. The same day Aragalaya mobs unleashed violence against the then government MPs across the country, torching dozens of their properties.
The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) yesterday said that they would help the families of those sentenced to death to move court against the Gampaha High Court Trial-at-Bar decision. Responding to The Island queries, FSP spokesman Pubudu Jayagoda said that their representatives had already met the families and necessary work was being done to move the Supreme Court. Twenty three persons were acquitted and four handed six-month prison terms, suspended for five years
Jayagoda said that one of the HC judges differed in the ruling. Asked whether they received backing from any other political party and groups that had been involved in the 2022 protest campaign to defend those who had been found guilty, Jayagoda said such support was lacking.
The JVP/NPP played a significant role in the violent protest campaign that forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step down. Pointing out that the Attorney General, too, was appealing against the court decision on the basis that the number of persons sentenced to death should be much higher, Jayagoda said that the Nittambuwa incident couldn’t be examined in isolation without taking into consideration the SLPP goon attack on Galle Face protesters on 09 May, 2022. (SF)
Offshore Patrol Vessel P 628 of the Sri Lanka Navy departed Baltimore, USA, for Colombo, on 20 February.
The ex-United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC Decisive was officially handed over to the SLN on 02 December, 2025, as the latest addition to the SLN fleet, under the Pennant Number P 628.
Measuring 64 metres in length, this ‘B-Type Reliance Class 210-foot Cutter’ is equipped with advanced technological systems and facilities, capable of conducting extensive surveillance operations spanning up to 6,000 nautical miles per patrol.
The vessel’s voyage to Colombo is historic, possibly marking the longest-ever passage undertaken by a Sri Lanka Navy ship. Covering approximately 14,775 nautical miles, the journey will see the P 628 navigate from Baltimore through the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal (a first for a Sri Lankan naval vessel), the Pacific Ocean, and into the Indian Ocean, via the Straits of Malacca. The ship is expected to arrive in Sri Lanka during the first week of May, 2026.
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