A/HRC/45/45/Add.1 (g) The 2013 Panaragama Commission, to investigate 24,000 cases of disappearances and allegations of war crimes.17 39. The Government of Sri Lanka has committed itself to establishing a truth commission.18 While, in March 2017, the authorities announced that draft legislation on such a commission would soon be presented to the Cabinet of Ministers, two years later the Minister of Foreign Affairs informed the Human Rights Council that the draft legislation was still under consideration by the Cabinet. 40. Until such time as the draft has become publicly available for consultation, important questions remain, including about the commission’s structure, its temporal and substantive scope, its investigatory powers and its authority to refer cases for criminal prosecution and grant amnesties.19 In addition, the Government has not given a timeline for setting up the commission, nor has it provided information about the mechanism for selecting commissioners and other pertinent issues.20 41. The Special Rapporteur stresses the significant potential contribution of truth commissions to providing redress for massive violations and abuses when implemented as part of a comprehensive transitional justice policy. 42. Since a truth commission will strive to gain credibility against the background of defeated expectations and the aforementioned ad hoc mechanisms, it would be strategic to emphasize its institutional coordination role, including in terms of following up on implementation.21 The mandate of the truth commission must clarify the differences and complementarities with the Office on Missing Persons.22 It should work together with that Office to identify patterns of violations and abuses and must cooperate with the Office for Reparations to identify patterns of victimhood and the needs of victims. 43. Considerable work remains to be done on the issue of disappearances. Despite ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the criminalization of enforced disappearances under domestic law remains inadequate. No observable progress has been made on pending cases, including habeas corpus applications into the disappearance of Tamil Tigers and members of their families who surrendered during the final days of the war. 23 Most worryingly, the recurrence of disappearances following the change in Government has raised serious questions about the ability and willingness to end the practice all together. 24 The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to implement the recommendations made by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and to continue implementing those of the Office on Missing Persons. V. Accountability and criminal justice 44. During his visit, the Special Rapporteur heard from victims, lawyers, judges and other legal practitioners, among others, about the multiple challenges to achieving 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 8 The two reports of this heavily criticized commission are available at https://sitesatrisksl.wordpress.com/2016/05/11/secretariat-for-coordinating-reconciliationmechanisms/amp/?__twitter_impression=true. This commitment is reflected in Human Rights Council resolution 30/1. The United Nations considers the granting of amnesties for international crimes such as violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law to contravene international legal obligations. A/HRC/24/42. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to consult with the national Human Rights Commission in this regard. Information does not guarantee transformation, as evidenced by the lack of implementation of the recommendations made by OHCHR on the basis of its investigation on Sri Lanka (available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session30/Pages/ListReports.aspx). A/HRC/24/42. The demonstrations that have now lasted two years, held in the North, most prominently in Kilinochi, have remained without a response from the Government. According to the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances, during and after the conflict, enforced disappearances were still carried out for purely economic purposes such as extortion by some State officials and affiliated paramilitaries (A/HRC/33/51/Add.2). New cases have come to light since.