The Government has drafted legislation aimed at registering the deaths of persons who had been reported missing as a result of terrorist or subversive activity or civil commotion.
According to the Bill, relatives of persons who have not been heard of for more than a year can obtain death certificates.
Those applying for a death certificate will be required to give 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 several hundreds of persons who are 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 hundreds still remain unaccounted for.
The Bill titled Registration of Deaths (temporary provisions) is to be presented to Parliament shortly by the Minister of Public Administration and Home Affairs.
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 a natural disaster in the country. |
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