Restoring Family Links

Disasters, conflict, and migration tear families apart. For those separated from their loved ones, the uncertainty is devastating. At the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society (SLRCS), Restoring Family Links (RFL) is a core mission embedded within Chapter 2, Article 6 of our Constitution.

Operating under the legal framework of the Geneva Conventions and recognized by the Government of Sri Lanka in the National Disaster Management Roadmap, we work as part of a global network to locate missing persons, exchange messages, and reunite families.

Who We Serve

Our RFL services are entirely free and confidential, tailored to support vulnerable populations experiencing separation due to:

Natural disasters and climate crises

Migration and human mobility (including migrant workers and their families)

Protracted impacts of past conflicts

Other humanitarian vulnerabilities (including tracing requests for children, the elderly, and adoption-related searches)

Our Core Services

When traditional communication channels break down, the SLRCS utilizes its country-wide branch network and international ties to bridge the gap through several dedicated services:

Tracing Services

Actively searching for family members lost or missing due to armed conflict, violence, disasters, or migration.

Red Cross Messages

Facilitating the exchange of personal and family news when regular postal, telephone, or digital networks are disrupted.

Welfare and Health Requests

Obtaining essential health and wellbeing updates on vulnerable individuals who are unable to contact their families.

Family Reunification Support

Assisting with the verification and forwarding of official documentation required for legal family reunification processes.

Information and Referral

Guiding individuals toward specialized community organizations or international agencies when their needs fall outside the Red Cross RFL mandate.

How to Access RFL Services

If you have lost touch with a family member and wish to open a tracing case, please note that we will require specific details about the missing person, the circumstances of your separation, and your relationship to them.

If you are living in Sri Lanka: Please contact the SLRCS District Branch closest to you to speak with an RFL representative.

If you are living outside Sri Lanka: Please contact your local National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society in your current country of residence. They will safely forward the tracing request to us.

Our Commitment to Accountability

While our primary focus remains on migration, disasters, and conflict, the SLRCS reviews non-conflict or non-disaster humanitarian cases on a case-by-case basis to ensure no vulnerable family is left without support.

Geneva Convention of 12th August 1949 and the UN resolution 55 (1) recognizes the Red Cross National Society as an Auxiliary to the Government in its humanitarian activities and its right to act upon its Fundamental Principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality.

Design and Development by Redfluence