Office of Missing Persons Act Amendment Approved By Cabinet

Janatha  Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) MP Bimal Ratnayake  has moved  an amendment  to the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) Act No. 14 of 2016.

 Amendment is to  remove  Paragraph (a) of Section 11, stripping it of the power to ‘enter into agreements, as are necessary, to achieve the mandate of the OMP, with any person or organization.

The Legal Draftsman has drafted the amendment to Section 11 of the OMP Act and the Attorney General has confirmed that the provisions of the draft bill are not inconsistent with the Constitution and is not subject to any of the prohibitions or restrictions imposed by the 13th Amendment,” a Cabinet memorandum, by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, read.

After considering the memo, the Cabinet granted approval to publish the said amendment, to the OMP Act, in the Government Gazette and present it to Parliament for approval.

When the OMP Act was debated in Parliament, JVP Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake pointed out that MP Ratnayake’s proposal had been missed at the Committee Stage of the Bill. The Prime Minister assured the JVP that it will be included in the Act after discussing it with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.