he United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) will turn its focus to Sri Lanka during its upcoming 29th session in Geneva, where the island nation’s compliance with international obligations to prevent and address enforced disappearances will come under scrutiny.
The session, taking place from 22 September to 2 October 2025, will review three countries—Montenegro, Benin, and Sri Lanka—all of which are State parties to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. As part of this process, governments are required to present reports on their progress in implementing the Convention, which are then assessed by a panel of 10 independent experts.
Sri Lanka’s review is scheduled for 26 September, with two public dialogue sessions to be held at the Palais Wilson in Geneva, from 10:00 to 13:00 and again from 15:00 to 18:00 (Geneva time). The Committee will consider reports submitted by the Sri Lankan government, as well as shadow reports and submissions from non-governmental organisations documenting ongoing concerns.
The review carries particular weight for Sri Lanka, where enforced disappearances remain a deeply sensitive and unresolved issue. Tens of thousands of people were reported missing during the country’s decades-long armed conflict, and families of the disappeared continue to call for truth, accountability, and reparations. Civil society organisations have long urged the government to strengthen mechanisms for justice, including the effective functioning of the Office on Missing Persons.
The 29th session will open with a tribute to victims of enforced disappearance, featuring a video from the first-ever World Congress on Enforced Disappearances held earlier this year in Geneva. Beyond individual country reviews, the Committee will also discuss its periodic report on urgent actions. Notably, the number of urgent cases registered has surged by 120 percent over the last five years, rising from 969 to 2,132, with 144 new cases recorded since its previous session.
