NPC concluded a residential workshop on improving the capacity of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) staff under the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives project for staff at offices in Jaffna, Mannar, Kilinochchi, Batticaloa and Matara and Colombo.
The sessions addressed the training needs of the OMP staff and were based on the results of a need assessment survey. Participants were given theoretical and practical knowledge about pluralism, transitional justice, psychosocial support, active listening, nonviolent communication and the OMP Act. They learnt how to apply these concepts to real life situations to improve their services and to make the services of the OMP more user friendly.
Some sessions highlighted real life situations faced by family members of missing persons. Participants learnt about the diversity of needs and wants of victim families and, in turn, explained the obstacles they faced in delivering their services. They were taught how to address situations diplomatically and shown the importance of their role in providing remedies to victim families.