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Death Certificates for missing persons extended for 2 more years
The provisions of Registration of Death (Temporary Provision) Act enacted in 2010 to register the deaths of persons reported missing as a result of terrorist or subversive activity or civil commotion, will be extended for two more years. Initially, The Bill was enacted for a period of two years, but Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister John Seneviratne, who introduced the Bill, will seek an extension of two more years, the Sunday Times learns.
The Act allows relatives of persons who have not been heard of for more than a year, to obtain death certificates. Those applying for a death certificate are required to submit a report from the Grama Niladhari and an affidavit setting out the grounds for their belief that the person, whose death is sought to be registered, is actually dead.
If a person’s death or disappearance has been confirmed by a Commission of Inquiry or a Special Presidential Commission, the next-of-kin can apply to the Registrar General or to the District Registrar of Births and Deaths, and obtain a death certificate. The Presidential Commission of Inquiry into abductions and disappearances headed by former High Court Judge Mahanama Tillekeratne has received complaints of hundreds of persons reported missing, by their relatives, particularly, from the North and East, in the past two years. Although many of those reported missing were later found, several hundred still remain unaccounted for.
The Bill will also provide for the registration of deaths of persons believed to be dead as a result of any natural disaster or calamity. It also provides for the registration of deaths of foreign nationals who may have died as a result of natural disasters in the country as well.
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