A/HRC/37/23 13. The High Commissioner welcomes the gazetting of the Office of Missing Persons on 15 September 2017 and progress towards its operationalization, after long delays following the adoption of the original legislation in August 2016. This is the first transitional justice mechanism to be established. Moreover, the allocations in the 2018 national budget indicate that this body will be properly resourced to start operations. As at 15 January 2018, the process of selection and appointment of the commissioners was ongoing. 14. It is to be seen if the new institution will be able to overcome the distrust and frustration that has festered among civil society and victims’ groups, particularly in the North, as a result of the multiple delays, amendments and insufficient consultation with respect to the legislation establishing the Office of Missing Persons. An independent and well-resourced Office, with capable, trustworthy and impartial commissioners, appropriate protection mechanisms for victims and witnesses and a clear policy on gender sensitiveness, has the potential to provide a new impetus to the protracted transitional justice process, including the creation of the remaining three mechanisms. An enabling environment will be essential for commissioners and staff, the families of victims, witnesses and civil society aiming to contribute to the objectives of the Office without the risk of reprisals or other threats. 15. The ratification by Sri Lanka of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 25 May 2016 has yet to be translated into domestic legislation. The enabling legislation was tabled in Parliament on 5 July 2017 and again on 21 September, but the debate was postponed on both occasions. As expressed in the previous reports of the High Commissioner, it is crucial that this legislation be enacted by the time the Office of Missing Persons becomes functional. 16. Progress in the design of a truth and reconciliation commission and of a reparation programme cannot be properly assessed until the Government unveils the drafts prepared by the technical working groups and opens public consultations and discussion on them. OHCHR understands that the proposals of the technical working groups are currently under review. 17. Legislation establishing a truth commission must not be further delayed as it is a key tool for uncovering patterns of serious violations, creating a demand for accountability and fostering consensus around a non-partisan view of victimhood that recognizes that victims of the conflict come from all communities. While the Office of Missing Persons will hopefully contribute to realizing some aspects of the right to truth, only a truth commission with a broad temporal and material scope can attempt to construct a comprehensive narrative that addresses the multiple layers of serious violations and provides sound answers on the number of victims and the root causes of the conflict. 18. Reparations, irrespective of the format they take, must be accompanied by an acknowledgement of responsibility that differentiates them from ordinary State responses to social needs. The victims of serious human rights violations and abuses should be acknowledged and provided reparations as such, both individually and collectively, including through memorialization and restitution of rights and property, and with clear links to other elements of truth, accountability and non-recurrence. Reparations should be granted on the basis of having suffered a violation, irrespective of the affiliation of the perpetrator and without discriminating among victims on account of their ethnicity, regional origin, religion or any other factor. Gender aspects should be given particular consideration when developing reparation programmes. 19. With respect to accountability, there has been very little preparatory work for the judicial mechanism envisaged in resolution 30/1. Crimes under international law have not been incorporated into domestic law to allow for their prosecution, and few consistent efforts have been made to strengthen the forensic, investigative and prosecutorial capacities in Sri Lanka. It is critical that the Government move forward in creating these preconditions while at the same time designing the special court and its procedures. 20. For the first time, the 2018 national budget contains a dedicated section related to reconciliation, including allocations for the establishment of the Office of Missing Persons, the resettlement of internally displaced persons, implementation of the Official Language 5