The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) has called on Switzerland to conduct an impartial investigation into past adoptions from Sri Lanka to determine whether the children have been victims of enforced disappearance.

The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances this week issued its findings on Switzerland, Colombia and Mongolia, the State parties which it examined during its latest session, ColomboPage reported.

CED welcomed the Federal Council’s acknowledgment of Swiss authorities’ failure to prevent illegal adoptions of children from Sri Lanka in the 1980s and 1990s, and noted the Federal Council’s expression of regret offered to the adopted people and their families.

The Committee recommended that the Swiss authorities guarantee the right to reparation to any person who has suffered from such acts.

The Committee said the definition of enforced disappearance contained in Switzerland’s existing Criminal Code lacks clarity, and therefore recommended that it party review it to remove any ambiguity.

(SAM)