United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today congratulated the Sri Lankan Government for setting up an Office of Missing Persons (OMP), “an important step for all Sri Lankans who are still looking for the truth about their loved ones.”

“The United Nations stands ready to support this process and the Secretary-General looks forward to [the Office] becoming operational as soon as possible, starting with the appointment of independent commissioners,” said the Deputy Spokesman for the Secretary-General Farhan Haq, In a statement.

For many years, Sri Lanka's armed conflict was a matter of grave international concern. The United Nations supported political efforts to resolve the conflict and, during its final stages in 2009, strongly advocated respect for human rights and a humane and orderly end to the fighting.

In the aftermath of the conflict, the United Nations, through the work of its agencies, funds and programmes on the ground, has assisted with the safe and dignified return and resettlement of civilians uprooted by the conflict.

The UN has also encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to adopt policies to promote political reconciliation and a credible accountability process for allegations of wartime violations of international human rights and humanitarian law.