HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA, Annual Report 2019 5.1. Public awareness raising As mandated by Section 10 of the parent Act, the Commission strives to actively engage in raising public awareness and sensitivity on issues of human rights. The Commission considers the public an integral part of their work as the very purpose for its existence is to promote and protect the human rights of the citizenry. Therefore, the year 2019 is marked by many important events in realizing this objective. 5.1.1. Celebration of International Commemorative Days ▪ International Human Rights Day – 2019 The event themed “Words Hurt: youth Reflections on Hate Speech” was organized by the HRCSL to commemorate the International Human Rights day and was held on 10 December, 2019 at the Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies. The chief guest and the keynote speaker of the event was Mr. Saliya Peiris, President’s Counsel, Chairperson of the Office on Missing Persons. Cultural event on hate speech at the Human Rights Day commemoration 2019 performed by youth participants of the 2019 Youth Camp In keeping with the theme of the commemoration, presentations, cultural events, and an interactive discussion on the impact of hate speech were performed by youth who had participated in the Youth Camp on Human Rights 2019, which incidentally successfully concluded the day prior to the International Human Rights day commemoration. Commemoration Programmes for the International Human Rights Day were organized by all the Regional Offices on the same theme. Accordingly, a host of programmes were held targeting the youth and wider civil society in the regions. 77