A/HRC/25/23 operations there. In cases of alleged human rights violations by the military or armed forces, investigations should be carried out by civilian authorities, not by the armed forces themselves.27 40. According to the Government, the Census on Human and Property Damages due to Conflict, completed in December 2013, will shed light on the number of civilian deaths and injuries during the war, as well as on the fate of missing persons. The results are reportedly being analysed. The outcome of the census will not, however, provide a total picture of all those who have died or disappeared since 1982; for instance, data were collected only from the immediate family members of those dead or missing, thereby missing those cases where all family members had died, disappeared or left the country. 41. Other issues for which the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission recommended further investigation remain unaddressed by the courts of inquiry or any other process. For instance, in paragraph 9.114 of its report, the Commission expressed deep concern at the persistent reports concerning the killing of journalists and other forms of attacks on journalists and media institutions, and the fact that these incidents still had to be conclusively investigated and perpetrators brought to justice. 42. The High Commissioner is also concerned that legal proceedings have not begun against any LTTE suspect for alleged war crimes or other human rights abuses. 43. In August 2013, the Government announced the appointment, by the President, of the new Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances. The Commission, which conducted its first public sittings from 18 to 21 January 2014, in Kilinochchi District, received approximately 13,700 complaints from all parts of the country.28 The Government has also sought information from other countries concerning Sri Lankans who may now be abroad. The High Commissioner welcomes this effort, but notes that the Commission will only cover disappearances in the northern and eastern provinces between 1990 and 2009. Many disappearances reported in Colombo and other parts of the country in recent years will therefore not fall within its scope. 44. In November 2013, the Government announced that the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka would conduct a national inquiry into allegations of torture committed between 2009 and 2013, with the support of the Human Rights Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat. In early December 2013, the Commission announced that the inquiry had been postponed indefinitely.29 45. In her previous report,30 the High Commissioner recommended that Sri Lanka should establish a more comprehensive truth-seeking mechanism, which would build upon the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. It is important to stress that any truth-seeking mechanism must fully comply with the State’s international legal obligations, and must be fully independent, including the selection of its members and 27 28 29 30 See for example CCPR/C/79/Add.76, CCPR/CO/71/VEN, CCPR/CO/69/KGZ, CCPR/C/79/Add.104, CCPR/C/79/Add.86, para. 9, CCPR/C/79/Add.96, CCPR/C/79/Add.80, Official Records of the General Assembly, Thirty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/35/40), para. 249, and CAT/C/CR/31/1, para. 9 (d) (iii). Ministry of Defence and Urban Development, “Commission probing disappearances receives 13,700 complaints”, 27 January 2014, available from www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=Commission_probing_disappearances_receives_13700_complaints _20140127_07. Ramanathan Ahilan, ”HRC Postpones Set Up Of Torture Commission On Alleged Requests By CSOs – Rights Now Asks Chairman To Name The Orgs”, Rights Now, 14 December 2013, available from www.rightsnow.net/?p=4347. A/HRC/22/38. 11