COPA examines criticisms against HRC, asks it to appear before watchdog on Jan 24

The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) recently has stressed the responsibility on the part of the Human Rights Commission to resolve the complaints it has received. COPA Chairman State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna said so after inquiring about the number of complaints received by the Commission. It has asked the Commission to appear before the watchdog committee on Jan. 24, 2024.

According to a statement issued by Parliament, COPA has focused on the performance and the role of the Human Rights Commission.Text of the statement: “It was discussed at length how the Commission functions in fulfilling the role of the Human Rights Commission and how the funds allocated in the Budget for this institution is spent.

The Chairman of the Committee also pointed out that due to public trust in the Human Rights Commission, it is the responsibility of the Commission to protect that trust.

Attention was also paid to the filling of the existing vacancies in the Commission and the COPA recommended that the existing vacancies be filled quickly.

In addition, the Committee also inquired about the non-operation of the data system provided to the Commission by UNDP. The officials pointed out that this data system is functioning properly and shows a weakness in data entry from regional offices. Officials representing the regional offices said that officers will be deployed to enter the data locally at regional offices. And the Committee mentioned that the necessary officials should be deployed for this purpose soon.”