UN Committee against Torture to review Sri Lanka

GENEVA (9 November 2016) - The UN Committee against Torture is due to review Sri Lanka on 15 and 16 November in Geneva. Sri Lanka has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and so is required to be reviewed regularly by the Committee.

Among the possible issues for discussion between CAT members and a delegation from the Sri Lankan Government are:
·    Allegations of police torture during arrest and questioning;
·    Allegations of torture and rape by military and security forces;
·    State’s failure to provide fundamental safeguards against torture and ill-treatment;
·    Unlawful detentions and so-called “white van abductions”;
·    Eradication of violence against women, including domestic violence;
·    Deaths in custody, severe overcrowding, unsanitary facilities and insufficient healthcare in detention centres;
·    Poor living conditions in centres for internally displaced persons.

The review will take place at Palais Wilson in Geneva from 10:00-13:00 (14:30-17:30 in Colombo) on 15 November and 15:00 to 18:00 on 16 November (19:30-22:30) and be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/. The Committee will also hear from NGO representatives.

More information, including Sri Lanka’s submitted written report, at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1085&Lang=en

The Committee has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday, 7 December at 12:30 at the Palais des Nations to discuss its findings on Sri Lanka and the other States being reviewed – Ecuador, Finland, Monaco, Namibia, Turkmenistan, Armenia, and Cape Verde. These findings, officially known as concluding observations, will be published here on 7 December: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1085&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell +41 (0) 22 917 9466/ +41 79 752 0488 ethrossell@ohchr.org)

Media accreditation:    http://unog.ch/80256EDD006B9C2E/(httpPages)/70991F6887C73B2280256EE700379C58?OpenDocument

Background
Members of the CAT are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information:  http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cat/pages/catindex.aspx

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