A visiting representative of the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) has joined families of disappeared persons from the north and east at an exhibition displaying personal belongings and memorabilia of their missing relatives.
Ana Lorena Delgadillo Pérez of the WGEID and Yogarasa Kanagaranjini, head of the Association of Relatives of Enforced Disappearances (ARED), opened the “Long Road for Justice” exhibition at the Thanthai Selva Auditorium in Jaffna on Sunday (30), marking the International Day for Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
Hundreds of families searching for relatives who have been missing for more than 17 years attended the exhibition, with some becoming emotional while viewing belongings once cherished by their missing family members.
“No mother should die without knowing where her disappeared child is,” Delgadillo Pérez said.
She said the families’ search for answers would continue as long as the fate and whereabouts of victims remained unknown.
“As long as the victims’ fate and whereabouts remain unknown and their families continue to seek answers, the crime continues and so do the obligations of the state and the international community to act,” she said.
The visiting WGEID representative is scheduled to visit several areas in the north and east, including locations of discovered mass graves and military camps.
Her findings are expected to be included in the WGEID’s annual report on enforced disappearances and militarization. (Newswire)