Sharma’s deputy in SL for CHOGM Task Force meet

Friday, 5 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka for a meeting with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 Task Force, ahead of the summit scheduled for November, the Commonwealth Secretariat said. Masire-Mwamba who arrived in the island on Wednesday (3 July) is on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka to review arrangements for CHOGM, the Secretariat said.

The Deputy Secretary General will meet with the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs, Professor G. L. Peiris and members of the CHOGM 2013 Task Force in Colombo during her visit. Taking place in parallel with the Deputy Secre-tary-General’s visit is a Commonwealth Secretariat-organised capacity development workshop for the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka on conducting national inquiries in compliance with international standards. The workshop runs from 2 to 4 July in Colombo, the Secretariat said. Participants include the Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, Judge Priyantha Perera, Commissioners and staff of the Commission, including the Commission’s ten regional coordinators. In his last two official visits to Sri Lanka in September 2012 and February this year in preparation for the CHOGM, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma committed to providing technical assistance to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka. This, he said, would strengthen the Commission’s capacity to investigate human rights abuses, which would contribute to further enhancing the independence, authority and effectiveness of the Commission in compliance with the Paris Principles. While in Colombo, Deputy Secretary General Masire-Mwamba will also meet with Judge Priyantha Perera.