UN committee to conduct torture prevention visit to SL

By Sunil Jayasiri

Sri Lanka has been included in a new round of country visits planned by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) for 2026, the body announced following its latest session in Geneva.  

According to the SPT, next year’s programme will feature six missions, including three postponed from 2025 due to the UN’s liquidity constraints. The deferred visits to Burundi, France, and Mexico will be carried out in 2026, along with newly scheduled missions to Paraguay, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka, the UN said.  

“While our resources remain strained, we are committed to fulfilling our visiting mandate, even if at a reduced pace,” SPT Chair María Luisa Romero said. She emphasised the importance of direct engagement with States and national monitoring bodies in strengthening safeguards against torture globally.  

Under OPCAT, the SPT carries out unannounced visits to places of detention, including police stations, prisons, psychiatric facilities, and immigration centres and works with national bodies to improve measures preventing torture and ill-treatment, it added.