Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba will meet with members of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013 Task Force in Colombo
Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba will undertake a brief official visit to Sri Lanka from 3 to 5 July to review arrangements for the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), taking place there this November.
Mrs Masire-Mwamba will meet with the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs, Professor G L Peiris, and members of the CHOGM 2013 Task Force in Colombo.
Taking place in parallel with the Deputy Secretary-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.
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 – also in preparation for 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.
