NPC has launched a project to set up and maintain Human Rights First Aid Centers (HRFACs) where victims of human rights abuses can seek support and redress. The project, Accountability Through Community Engagement and Initiatives for Transition (ACE-IT), is supported by the European Union under its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights Country Based Support Scheme (CBSS).
The ACE-IT project is a 30-month intervention being implemented in the districts of Nuwara Eliya, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Jaffna, Mannar, Gampaha, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Badulla and Moneragala. It is carried out in partnership with the Right to Life Human Rights Centre (R2L), an NGO working to protect and promote human rights in Sri Lanka.
The project also involves working with Women’s and Children’s Desks at police stations to sensitise them towards victims, educating government sector officers including law enforcement officers on available mechanisms to support human rights awareness and providing legal support for victims seeking right to information.
Ten orientation programmes have been completed. By August, HRFACs will be set up in Jaffna, Mannar and Batticaloa.
An HRFAC is a centre that aims to give victims and survivors of human rights abuses advice and guidance on the how to proceed and seek redress for their grievances. NPC will be working with local partner organizations in areas where a HRFAC is established.