HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA - Annual report 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. 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 2020 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. In June 2020, the UN Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture held its forty-first session online, making it the first treaty body of the UN to undertake a full session and full programme of work in an online environment and using a variety of platforms. The Commission participated in the joint meeting of the NPMs in the Asian region held during the session. 6.4. Other collaborations with international organizations and experts 6.4.1 Bi-lateral meetings: HRCSL broadened its international collaborations through bi-lateral meetings with multiple entities:  The Commission participated in several meetings and engagements with different UN organizations in Sri Lanka such as: - Participating at the workshop organized by UNDP together with Law and Society Trust to collect data from civil society organizations on 88