Sri Lanka is known as the teardrop of the Indian Ocean due to its unique shape. Yet, for many, the phrase carries a heavier meaning, as living on the island is one of constant tears, grief, and resilience. Since the 1980s, an estimated 60,000–100,000 people have disappeared across the island – spanning all ethnic groups (Amnesty International, no date a). The scale of disappearances in the country is so extensive that Sri Lanka ranks among the countries with the highest recorded number of enforced disappearances in the world (Amnesty International, 2017).

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It has been recorded that the disappearances in Sri Lanka occurred in waves; during the civil war (1983-2009), many Tamils suspected of ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were allegedly subject to forced disappearances (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Between 1987 and 1989, thousands of Sinhalese suspected of links to the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) also disappeared under similar circumstances (United Nations Human Rights Council, 2025). Journalists, activists, and outspoken critics from all ethnic backgrounds during and after the civil war (Amnesty International, no date b) likewise faced this fate.

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While some families of the victims have come to terms with the fact that their loved ones may never return, others still hold hope and seek justice. This reality is highlighted by the Sri Lanka Barometer Public Opinion Survey of 2023, which shows that Sri Lankans across social groups and regions show strong support for dealing with the past and recognising past injustices (Sri Lanka Barometer, 2024).

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To address the grievances of the families of missing persons, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) established the Office of Missing Persons (OMP) on February 28, 2018 (Office of Missing Persons, 2025a). Its mandate is to trace missing persons, clarify how they went missing, identify ways to compensate the victims and their families, and collect and compile data on missing persons (Office of Missing Persons, 2025b). However, progress in implementing the OMP’s mandate has been limited, and confidence in the institution among families of missing and disappeared has gradually declined (Amnesty International, 2022). One explanation for this is that political shifts have led to OMP’s activity levels fluctuating with change in governments over the years (Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, 2019). Moreover, the Rajapakshe government (2019-2022) maintained that many disappearances occurred due to the actions of other parties, and that the government was therefore unable to account for the remains of missing persons (Kodikara, 2023).

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The inconsistent messaging and actions have deepened the distress of families of the missing and disappeared, contributing to the longest-running nonviolent protest in the country, led by mothers and wives of missing persons in the North and East of Sri Lanka (Tamil Guardian, 2025).

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Sri Lankans across regions, but particularly from the Northern and Eastern Provinces, have consistently placed a high level of importance in reconciliation institutions such as OMP, as indicated by findings of the SLB Survey 2023 (Sri Lanka Barometer, 2024). However, there is a widespread unawareness about these institutions across the country, indicated by the high percentage of missing data for the question on ‘importance of reconciliation institutions’ (Sri Lanka Barometer, 2024). This indicates the importance of bringing the issue of missing persons and the role of institutions such as OMP into mainstream discussion. The mothers and wives of missing persons are not confined to a single ethnic group or geographic location; therefore, intergroup dialogue coupled with storytelling could be another way to support this healing process and bring their voices into mainstream discussions and media. Moreover, peacebuilding interventions to facilitate the healing of families is also be driven by civil society, researchers, and activists. Rather than resting solely with the government, such work can be understood as a shared responsibility across different actors.

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One such intervention is intergroup dialogues, a facilitated group experience (Dessel and Rogge, 2008) that may occur once or take place over multiple meetings. These dialogues are designed to provide participants with safe spaces to explore the reasons and attitudes underlying complex and divisive social issues (Dessel and Rogge, 2008). They could be inter-faith, inter-communal or among youth.  One powerful example of intergroup dialogue comes from the Mannar Women’s Development Federation (MWDF). As part of its reconciliation efforts, MWDF organised youth exchanges that brought together Tamil and Muslim students from the North with Sinhalese youth from the South. In June 2002, Northern students stayed with a Sinhalese family in the North Central Province, constituting for many their first opportunity to interact with people from other communities. Soon after, Sinhalese youth visited the North, and the exchanges grew into a lasting dialogue, sustained through the heartfelt exchange of handwritten letters between students and their parents (Chung, 2004).

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Similarly, storytelling – the sharing of oral or signed (used in Deaf storytelling) narratives (Senehi, 2021) – can be utilised to draw families from the South into solidarity with the ongoing, longest nonviolent resistance in Sri Lanka — the mothers’ protests in the North. When families from the North and South come together to share their experiences, their messages can be deeply personal, powerful, and socially resonant.  Dialogue between families of the missing from the North and South coupled with storytelling could create a shared sense of belonging and identity. Families in the South are often unaware of the trauma faced by families in the North, and vice versa. One shared reality unites them: missing loved ones. Bringing these communities together through dialogue and storytelling could build empathy and solidarity.

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The search for Sri Lanka’s missing is not just about the past, it is about healing the present and securing the future. Without truth, wounds deepen. Without answers, grief lingers. In this context, peacebuilding extends beyond policy reform and institutional mechanisms. It involves uniting divided communities, amplifying the voices of those most affected, and acknowledging the importance of truth in addressing the past.

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Because for the living to be free, the truth about the missing must be found.

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References

Amnesty International(2017) Sri Lanka: Refusing to Disappear, Tens of Thousands Missing: FamiliesDemand Answers. Available at:https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/ASA3754972017ENGLISH.pdf.

AmnestyInternational (2022) Still no answers: An update on the rights of enforced disappearancesin Sri Lanka. Available at:https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ASA3752782022ENGLISH.pdf.

AmnestyInternational (no date a) “Enforced Disappearances,” Amnesty International.Available at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/enforced-disappearances/(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

AmnestyInternational (no date b) “Footprints of those forcibly disappeared in SouthAsia - Sri Lanka,” Amnesty International. Available at:https://www.amnesty.org/en/projects/enforced-disappearance-in-south-asia/(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

Chung,D (2004). Pioneering the Restoration ofPeace: A Narrative of the Life and Work of Shreen Abdul Saroor of Sri Lanka.Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice. Available at: https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=ipj-research

Councilof Europe (2025) “Youth Peace Camp 2025: Dialogue for peacebuilding inaction!,” July. Available at:https://www.coe.int/en/web/youth/-/youth-peace-camp-2025-dialogue-for-peacebuilding-in-action-.

Dessel,A.B. and Rogge, M. (2008) “Evaluation of intergroup dialogue: A review of theempirical literature,” Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 26(2), pp.199–238. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/CRQ.230.

HumanRights Watch (2024) “Sri Lanka: Crackdown Over Civil War Anniversary, UN ReportCalls for International Prosecutions for Enforced Disappearances,” HumanRights Watch, 23 May. Available at:https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/23/sri-lanka-crackdown-over-civil-war-anniversary(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

Iweze,D.O. (2021) “Boko Haram Insurgency, Interfaith Dialogue, and Peacebuilding inKano: Examining the Kano Covenant,” African Conflict and PeacebuildingReview, 11(1), pp. 32–54. Available at:https://doi.org/10.2979/africonfpeacrevi.11.1.02 •.

Kodikara,C. (2023) “The Office on Missing Persons in Sri Lanka: Why Truth Is a RadicalProposition,” The International Journal of Transitional Justice, 17(1).Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ijtj/ijad005.

Officeof Missing Persons (2025a) “Establishment of the Office of Missing Persons,” 14August. Available at:http://www.omp.gov.lk/about/establishment-of-the-commission.

Officeof Missing Persons (2025b) “Mandate,” 14 August. Available at:http://www.omp.gov.lk/about/mandate.

Senehi,J. (2021) “Theory-building in peace and conflict studies: The storytellingmethodology,” in S. Byrne et al. (eds.) Routledge companion to peace andconflict studies, pp. 45–57.

SriLanka Barometer (2024) National Public Opinion Survey on Reconciliation.Sri Lanka: Sri Lanka Barometer. Available at:https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/6401937657fbcb014f4a5c61/67177dc38be2c10181215c4a_SLBR2023_Final_211024_Digital-compressed.pdf(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

SriLanka Campaign for Peace and Justice (2019) No Will, No Way: Stalled Effortsto Deal with the Past in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka. Available at:https://srilankacampaign.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/No-Will-No-Way-Sri-Lanka-Campaign-Feb-2019-Compressed.pdf(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

Stokes,O. and Green, P. (2003) “Preparing for Peace: Interethnic Dialogue and CommunalHealing in Sri Lanka,” The Journal of Intergroup Relations, XXIX(Winter2002/2003), pp. 89–96.

TamilGuardian (2025) Tamil families of the disappeared mark 3,007 days ofprotest in Mankulam. Available at: https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/families-disappeared-mark-3007th-day-protest-mankulam

UnitedNations Human Rights Council (2025) Situation of Human Rights in Sri Lanka.Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights andreports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-GeneralA/HRC/60/21. Available at:https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session60/advance-version/a-hrc-60-21-auv.pdf(Accessed: August 14, 2025).

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Laleema Senanayake is a PhD student in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba, committed to advancing peace and transforming conflict. She holds a Bachelor’s in Town and Country Planning and a Master’s in Disaster Risk Reduction and Development. Her lived experiences of conflict and civil war shape her unique research perspective. With over a decade of program and research management experience in the not-for-profit sector across South and Southeast Asia, her current research focuses on nonviolence, liberal peacebuilding, and positive peace.

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