Torture Probe Postponed 

By Waruni Karunarathne-Monday, December 09, 2013

The National Inquiry on Torture, which was expected to be set in Sri Lanka with the help of the Commonwealth Secretariat, has been postponed indefinitely, sources at the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission revealed. The National Inquiry on Torture was expected to conduct investigations into allegations of torture committed by the government or the armed forces since the final stage of war to the present day.

The inquiry was to be set under the Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission with the assistance and observation of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
However, according to sources at the Human Rights Commission, the National Inquiry on Torture has been postponed indefinitely upon request by several civil society organisations.

“This decision was taken by the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission, together with the Commonwealth Secretariat Human Rights Unit, responding to a request made by several civil society organisations who had sought a postponement of the investigations,” sources said.

According to sources, the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission was concerned about the amount of investigations that are currently underway in the country and asserted that this was not the correct time to launch another investigation.

The Sri Lankan Human Rights Commission and several civil societies have expressed their concern about the possibility that these investigations and processes may overlap each other.