HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2019 special discussion was held on 30. 04. 2019 at the Head Office of the Commission to create co-ordination among relevant state entities, United Nations Agencies, and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in responding to the public protests against refugees building up in the country following 21 April attacks. Further, HRCSL launched investigations into a large number of complaints lodged by women who had been denied access to public spaces due to the fact of their cultural attire i.e. the Abaya and hijab. The Commission issued several recommendations to the authorities subsequent to conducting inquiries into these complaints. ▪ Contributions to the monitoring mechanism on the implementation of the National Action Plan for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights 2017 - 2021 (NHRAP) In 2019 the HRCSL continued to attend meetings of the monitoring mechanism on the implementation of the NHRAP convened by sectoral monitoring mechanisms of various line Ministries as an observer. Representatives of the Commission attended these meetings regularly and actively contributed to the discussions. 2.1.2. Outreach programmes In 2019, the Commission successfully conducted a variety of outreach programmes in order to promote human rights awareness and educate the public on human rights issues. During the year, HRCSL identified that its main duty was to prevent serious violations of human rights that would result from ethnic and religious tensions and violence and strived to act as a body to facilitate communication among different ethnic and religious communities. The Commission also increased previous measures taken by the Commission to promote communal harmony and peaceful co-existence. Outreach programmes included lectures, mobile clinics, workshops, round-table discussions, community forums, and the second youth camp on human rights. 28