Sri Lankan Parliament passes ‘Office for Reparations Bill’

Sri Lankan Parliament has passed the Office for Reparations Bill with a simple majority vote Wednesday evening.

Earlier, the bill was presented to Parliament for debate and voting took place after carrying amendments.

Presenting the draft bill in parliament, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe stated that the bill would be presented for the rights of all the people.

He said disappearances have been reported not only in the North but also in the South and reparations have to be made to provide relief to the victimized parties.

The Office for Reparations is part of a four – pillar mechanism agreed by the Sri Lankan government with UNHCR to address war crimes.

In October 2015, the government agreed at the UNHRC to establish four pillars of transitional justice including truth, reconciliation, and accountability.
Office of missing persons has already been set up as part of the resolution. The Office for Reparations, consisting of four members will carry out policy formulation, implementation, and monitoring of its progress.

The Bill facilitates any monetary payment or material benefit to an aggrieved person, micro-finance and concessionary loans, educational programs, training and skills development programs, measures of restitution including the provision of land and housing and other appropriate measures identified by the Office for Reparations.

Sri Lanka suffered three decades long ethnic war during which thousands of people died and disappeared.