– The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) will return to Sri Lanka from 15 to 24 June, seven years after its last visit, to assess whether the authorities have followed through on reforms and strengthened protections for people in detention or other places where they may be deprived of their liberty, according to a statement from the UN in Sri Lanka.“Since our last visit in 2019, the Government of Sri Lanka has designated its national preventive mechanism, which is an important step in torture prevention,” said Aisha Shujune Muhammad, head of the SPT delegation. “In addition to undertaking preventive visits, our upcoming mission aims to evaluate the functioning of the mechanism and to assess how the authorities have implemented our recommendations over the past years,” she added.

“We especially look forward to working with the Sri Lankan preventive mechanism and to conduct joint visits as part of our collaborative efforts to strengthen the prevention of torture and ill-treatment,” she stated.Sri Lanka acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) in 2017.Under its mandate, the SPT can visit any State Party to the Optional Protocol and conduct unannounced visits to places where people are or may be deprived of their liberty. During each visit, the SPT delegates meet with Government officials, members of the national preventive mechanism, civil society representatives, and other UN agencies.

At the conclusion of the visit, the SPT will present its confidential preliminary observations to the Government of Sri Lanka and the national preventive mechanism, in accordance with Article 16 of OPCAT. The delegation will subsequently prepare a confidential report for the State Party containing its findings and recommendations. In line with the OPCAT framework, the report will remain confidential unless and until the Sri Lankan authorities request it be made public. To date, the report issued following the SPT’s 2019 visit to Sri Lanka has not been made public.The SPT delegation comprises Aisha Shujune Muhammad, Head of Delegation (Maldives), Jakub Julian Czepek (Poland), Nika Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Anica Tomsic (Croatia) and two human rights officers from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.