Ahead of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)which is scheduled to be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka this month (November 2013), Sri Lanka will set up a National Inquiry on Torture and the Commonwealth Secretariat will assist in its establishment and functioning.
Why would Sri Lanka set up National Inquiry on Torture?
Sri Lanka will set up a National Inquiry on Torture under the auspices of the Sri Lanka National Human Rights Commission (SLHRC) and to be assisted and monitored by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The inquiry will investigate all allegations of torture committed by government agencies or arms of the state from 2009 (the final stages of the civil war) to the present. The Commonwealth Secretariat has begun the process that would bring the issue of torture and national reconciliation under Commonwealth examination and compliance. The inquiry would take 18 months to complete its work.
It can be recalled that International human rights groups criticized the Secretariat accusing it of ignoring human rights concerns in respect of Sri Lanka, which is to become chair of the Commonwealth for the next two years.
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