A/HRC/43/19 families. In a statement on 24 January 2020, the President’s Office clarified that “after the necessary investigations, steps would be taken to issue a death certificate and the necessary support for the families to rebuild their lives”. 9 19. The High Commissioner appeals to the Government to take a more considered and comprehensive approach that ensures the investigation of these cases and provides justice and redress to victims and their families. This cannot be achieved through an expedited administrative and compensation process alone. As also highlighted by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, any comprehensive policy should address all the cases of enforced disappearance that took place in the country, regardless of the time of the disappearance and without any type of discrimination (A/HRC/33/51/Add.2, para. 65). Sri Lanka has now also ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The High Commissioner urges the Government to safeguard and build upon the valuable work of the Office on Missing Persons, the Office for Reparations and the judiciary. As the Government seeks to bring closure to the issue of missing persons, it is critical that it provides adequate political support and resources to the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations to deliver concrete benefits for victims and their families, particularly in clarifying the fate of missing persons and providing reparations. 20. There has been no further progress towards the development of a more comprehensive truth and reconciliation commission. A conceptual framework was reportedly last submitted on 16 October 2018 to the former Cabinet, which decided to refer it for observations by the Ministry of Defence. There has also been no progress towards establishing a judicial mechanism with a special counsel to investigate allegations of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, as envisaged in resolution 30/1. 21. Meanwhile, there has been minimal progress in the investigation and prosecution before the courts of the long-term emblematic cases highlighted in previous reports of the High Commissioner to the Human Rights Council. These cases involve victims from all communities in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/40/23, paras. 38 ff., and A/HRC/37/23, paras. 29 ff.). While noting the current efforts of the Attorney-General to handle pending cases more efficiently, the absence of progress on these cases highlights the systemic impediments to accountability in the criminal justice system. 22. Meanwhile, on 9 January 2020, the Government appointed a new presidential commission to investigate alleged political victimization of public officials by the previous Government. On 22 January 2020, the Commission issued directives to the AttorneyGeneral to suspend the prosecution of naval officers over the abduction for ransom of 11 youths in Colombo in 2008 and 2009. At time of writing, the Attorney-General had not complied with this order, asserting the independence of his office. Several officers responsible for the investigation of other high-profile cases have been transferred or deprived of their security details. 23. On 20 January 2020, a German court convicted a former member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the assassination, in 2005, of former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, and sentenced him to six years and 10 months in prison. The case highlights the importance of accountability for crimes committed by all parties, including in foreign jurisdictions. 24. Resolution 30/1 includes other commitments that would foster an enabling environment for transitional justice and reconciliation, such as the devolution of political authority, protection of the rights of minorities, and the settlement of long-standing issues related to security legislation, militarization, security sector reforms and land return. 25. Of fundamental importance is the nineteenth Constitutional Amendment, of April 2015, which strengthened the independence of key institutions and provided checks and balances against the executive. The Government has signalled its intention to repeal or revise this important constitutional guarantee if it achieves the required parliamentary majority. The President has also indicated his opposition to any further devolution of power to provinces, as foreseen in the thirteenth Constitutional Amendment. 9 See www.president.gov.lk/death-certificates-for-missing-after-investigations. 5