UN torture prevention body to advise Sri Lanka on implementation of treaty obligations

The United Nations Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT) is to advise Sri Lanka on implementation of treaty obligations during its visit to the island next month. 

A four member delegation is to visit from April 2 to 12 and will meet with civil society organisations as well as the country's Human Rights Commission. 

“During our visit we will be exploring the steps Sri Lanka needs to take to effectively prevent torture and ill-treatment of people deprived of their liberty,” said the delegation head, Victor Zaharia from the Republic of Moldova said. 

"We will also advise the authorities on the full implementation of their treaty obligations, including how they can best establish a national independent body to visit places of detention," she added. 

Zaharia will be accompanied by Satyabhooshun Gupt Domah from Mauritius, Petros Michaelides from Cyprus, and June Lopez from the Philippines.

Last year the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) wrote to Sri Lanka, after the government failed to respond to a report, which called for information to be provided on the “establishment of a judicial mechanism” to investigate torture and information on the role of a former Criminal Investigations Department head.

“The information sought by the Committee has not been provided yet, although more than one year has elapsed from the transmittal of the Committee’s concluding observations,” said a letter sent to Sri Lanka’s ambassador in Geneva. 

Sri Lanka had until December 2017 to respond to the report, which was issued after the state was discussed at the 59th session of the UN CAT in 2016.