laying foundation for the establishment of six (6) new regional offices, in addition to ten (10) existing ones. taking initiatives to tender a report outlining the amendments desirable to be made to the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act, No.21 of 1996. In addition, I am extremely pleased to note that, during their visits to Sri Lanka both Ms. Navaneethan Pillai, United Nation Commissioner for Human Rights and Mr. Kamalesh Sharma, Secretary General of Commonwealth monitored and commended the activities of the Commission and expressed their readiness to cooperate with the HRC for advancement of such activities. I wish to express my appreciation to the staff of the Commission who contributed immensely throughout the year 2013, to carry out all the tasks assigned to the Commission. Further, I sincerely acknowledge the constant encouragement and constructive criticism lent by civil society organizations and extend my thanks to all government institutions as well as to the UN Human Rights Programme and the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat for supporting us both technically and financially. I, most earnestly, invite everyone to join hands with the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission to safeguard and promote human rights of Sri Lankans living in a post-war era and to bring about reconciliation in this country. Chairman Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka xi