November 25, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lanka has been named among six countries the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) intends to visit in 2026, as part of a renewed international effort to reinforce protections against torture and other forms of ill-treatment.
The announcement follows the easing of the UN’s recent financial constraints, which had forced several planned inspections to be pushed back. With its budgetary challenges stabilising, the SPT confirmed that previously postponed visits to Burundi, France and Mexico will now move ahead next year, together with new missions to Paraguay, Rwanda and Sri Lanka.
The 2026 programme is set to begin in January with an inspection of facilities in Mexico. The decision comes after a year in which the Subcommittee managed to complete only four of its planned visits—Mozambique, New Zealand, Peru and Serbia—because of funding shortages.
Operating under its global mandate to prevent torture, the SPT conducts unannounced inspections of places where individuals are deprived of their liberty, including prisons, police cells, psychiatric institutions and immigration detention centres.
During these visits, the Subcommittee engages with state officials, civil society actors and national human rights bodies to promote reforms and strengthen safeguards against abuse.
