Sri Lanka on UN’s 2026 Anti-Torture Mission List

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka will be one of six countries visited by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) in 2026, as part of a renewed global push to strengthen safeguards against torture and ill-treatment.

The announcement comes after the UN overcame severe liquidity constraints that forced the postponement of several missions this year.

The SPT confirmed that deferred visits to Burundi, France, and Mexico will now take place next year, alongside newly scheduled missions to Paraguay, Rwanda, and Sri Lanka.

The programme will kick off in January with Mexico, following a year in which the Subcommittee managed only four visits—Mozambique, New Zealand, Peru, and Serbia—half of its planned schedule.

Under its mandate, the SPT conducts unannounced visits to places of deprivation of liberty—such as prisons, police stations, psychiatric hospitals, and immigration detention centers—while working closely with governments, civil society, and human rights institutions to prevent torture worldwide.