A/HRC/43/19 were killed, and it became the most lethal single terrorist incident in the country’s history. 6 The attacks were attributed to the National Tawhid Jamaat, a small local extremist organization believed to have been inspired and supported by individuals linked with Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant who claimed the attack. The High Commissioner unequivocally condemns these crimes and the ideology behind them and expresses her solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka, particularly the victims and their families. 13. Understandably, the attacks placed national security once again at the centre of the political agenda. In addition, government institutions continued to experience a degree of paralysis resulting from the polarity between the then President and Prime Minister and their respective parties following the political events of October 2018. The last months of 2019 were dominated by the election campaigns and installation of the new Government. These developments affected the implementation of resolution 30/1. 14. With regard to the Office on Missing Persons and the Office for Reparations, despite the delays in implementation highlighted in previous reports, both institutions have achieved a considerable degree of development and have undertaken important initiatives. 15. In 2019, the Office on Missing Persons opened regional offices in Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mannar and Matara, and it recruited and trained permanent staff, including the victims and family support officers, who will be the first point of contact for family members. Importantly, the roll-out began in 2019 of a scheme for immediate relief for vulnerable families of missing persons who have obtained certificates of absence, with a budget allocation of 500 million Sri Lanka rupees (approximately 2.76 million United States dollars).7 This initiative has great significance for victims and their families and the timely disbursement of payments should be ensured. 16. On 4 April 2019, five commissioners were appointed to the Office for Reparations, enabling its operationalization. 8 It has since taken over the functions of the previous reparations authority, the Rehabilitation of Persons, Properties and Industries Authority, and has conducted consultations with stakeholders across the country on the design of a reparations policy. In July 2019, the Office for Reparations provided compensation (amounting to 265 million Sri Lanka rupees) to the victims of the terrorist attacks of April 2019 and their families. It is hoped that reparations will be more comprehensive and transformative than the approach of monetary compensation, which was the basis of the mandate of the Rehabilitation of Persons, Properties and Industries Authority. 17. While further steps need to be taken for the two institutions to be effective in fully responding to the expectations of victims, the High Commissioner wishes to reiterate the enormous potential of their mandates for people from all communities who have been affected during different periods in the history of Sri Lanka. The caseload of the Office on Missing Persons includes many thousands of victims of the war in the north and east and of the earlier Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (People’s Liberation Front) insurgency in the south in the 1980s, as well as the families of Sri Lankan military personnel abducted or missing in action. Both institutions evolved from the recommendations of previous presidential commissions, including those established under the previous administrations, and a subsequent broad-based national consultation process. 18. The Government has indicated that it may take a different approach to the issue of missing persons who may have been the victims of enforced disappearance during and after the conflict. This has created considerable distress and anxiety among victims and their 6 7 8 4 During the attack, 269 people were killed (including 45 children) in addition to the 8 suicide bombers, and more than 400 people were injured. The Cabinet approved the operationalization of this proposal on 3 September 2019. Families holding a valid certificate receive a monthly allowance of 6,000 Sri Lanka rupees (approximately 33 dollars), payment of which began from October 2019, with retroactive effect to January 2019. Actual disbursement commenced in November 2019. On 29 October 2019, given the overwhelming number of certificates of death historically issued in cases that could now merit a certificate of absence, the Cabinet agreed to extend the same monthly interim relief of 6,000 Sri Lanka rupees to those who possessed a death certificate explicitly mentioning that the cause of death was disappearance. Prime Minister’s Office, “President appoints commissioners to the Office for Reparations”, press release, 4 April 2019. Available at https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/003bad_ 9ed49f6cb4b54eaf996a353e03687edd.pdf.