A/HRC/13/31 Total cases transmitted, clarified and outstanding 501. Since its establishment, the Working Group has transmitted four cases to the Government, and all remain outstanding. Observations 502. The Working Group reminds the Government of its obligations under the Declaration, mainly that all acts of enforced disappearances shall be offences under criminal law punishable by appropriate penalties which shall take into account their extreme seriousness (art. 4.1), and that all acts of enforced disappearances shall be investigated for as long as the fate of the victim of enforced disappearance remains unclarified (art. 13.6). 503. The Working Group congratulates the Government for ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It calls the Government to accept the competence of the Committee under articles 31 and 32. Sri Lanka Number of outstanding cases at the beginning of the period under review Cases transmitted to the Government during the period under review: 100 Cases sent under the urgent action procedure Cases sent under the standard procedure 4 96 5 727 Number of cases on which the Government has replied 32 Cases clarified during the period under review: 5 Government Nongovernmental sources Number of outstanding cases at the end of the year under review 5 0 5 8222 Multiple replies on some cases Number of cases of possible clarification by Government (6month rule) Yes 0 General allegation N/A Government response N/A Prompt intervention letter N/A Government response N/A Working Group request for a visit Yes Government response No Urgent actions 504. The Working Group sent four cases under its urgent action procedure to the Government. One case concerned Sivakumar (Sinnathambi) Ponnampalam, last seen in November 2008, at the Manmunaitharai Checkpoint near the Kokkadicholi ferry point, Manmunai, Batticaloa. It is believed that the Police Special Task Force is responsible for 2 GE.09-17704 The Working Group determined that 171 cases were duplicated and were subsequently eliminated from its records. 105