Considering that the Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, General E/CN.4/1998, of the Economic and Social Council deals with, among other matters, the cases of disappearances in Sri Lanka,

Considering that according to the said document, General E/CN.4/1998, 12,208 cases of disappearances had been reported to the Working Group since its inception,

Considering that the Working Group undertook two missions to Sri Lanka from 7 to 18 October 1991 and 15 October 1992 and their reports were contained in documents E/cn.4/1992/18/add.1 and E/cn.4/1993/25/add.1,

Considering that three Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons in Sri Lanka have completed inquiries into 16,800 cases and submitted reports, and one of the Commissions continues to inquire into further 10,135 cases,

Considering that at the time the document of General E/CN.4/1998 was submitted, the Working Group had expressed its wish to receive the reports of the said Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons,

Considering that the findings of the said Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons clearly established that disappearances in this context had meant an euphemism for extra-judicial killings mostly carried out by State officers or their collaborators, that most killings were done after arrests and kidnappings by State agents, that an island-wide network existed to erase all records relating to disappearances and to destroy thousands of dead bodies without a trace, that there was existence of several mass graves, that often prior to death persons had been detained and tortured and that an operation of such large scale had taken place with the knowledge and encouragement of the political leadership of the regime in power at the time,

Considering that acts mentioned above do not constitute legal activities and cannot be justified as legitimate activities of a government and that naming such acts as counter-subversive activities does not alter the illegality of such acts,

Considering that according
to the said Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearance of Persons, a very few of the culprits of such acts have been prosecuted and tens of thousands of cases require further criminal investigations if prosecution is to place any time in future,

Considering that no adequate compensations on the basis of norms accepted by the Working Group have not been paid to the victims,

It is recommended that,

The disappearances mentioned above be treated as a crime against humanity and the political leaders responsible be tried on that basis,

That Sri Lanka be requested to establish a Criminal Investigation Authority with the mandate and resources to investigate these disappearances and prosecute the suspects,

That the Sri Lankan government be requested to implement the recommendations of the Commissions of Inquiry into Involuntary Removal or Disappearancef Persons and undertake the necessary reforms in law enforcement agencies to stop the continuous occurrence of disappearances,

And that the compensation paid to the victims need to be assessed in terms of the norms acceptable to the Working Group.