HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2018 the Human Rights Commission of Nepal organized with a view to strengthening ties among Human Rights Commissions in South Asia. ▪ The Commission also participated in the Annual General Meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) held in Hong Kong in September. The APF is the regional umbrella organization for National Human Rights Institutions that provides technical support. HRCSL is a member of the APF and could participate in decision making at the 2018 AGM as an ‘A’ Status accredited Human Rights Commission. 6.3. Appointment of HRCSL as the National Preventive Mechanism under OPCAT Pursuant to Sri Lanka acceding to the Optional Protocol to the International Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) in December, 2017, HRCSL was nominated by the Government of Sri Lanka to be the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) under the OPCAT the State is obligated to set up one or more national preventive mechanisms to attempt to prevent torture and other forms of custodial abuse through preventive visits. HRCSL is already mandated and empowered to visit places of detention without prior permission under its parent statute. The Commission joined the UN Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture via video link on 15 February 2018 in order to discuss HRCSL’s role as the National Preventive Mechanism in Sri Lanka and methodologies to be used in preventive work. The Sub-Committee assured technical cooperation to HRCSL in that regard. 89