TO: News Editors and Forward Planning
PRESS CONFERENCE BY THE INDEPENDENT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE VIOLENCE IN LEICESTER, AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022
DATE: MONDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2023 AT 10.30AM
VENUE: Gordhan Parmar Room, Peepul Enterprises Centre, Orchardson Avenue, Leicester, LE4 6DP
Embargo: 6AM 18 SEPTEMBER 2023
Contact: press@soas.ac.uk
Juan E Méndez, chairperson of the Independent Commission of Inquiry into the Violence in Leicester during August and September 2022, will address a press conference on the first anniversary of the public disturbances.
The Commission of Inquiry, which is hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), seeks to understand the root causes of the 2022 disturbances. It will create tools to help maintain the city’s longstanding reputation for community harmony, and it will work towards preventing violence in the future. The Inquiry is unique and multi-dimensional: it will collect evidence, undertake community-focused research, and develop community engagement projects.
The Commission is independent of and does not substitute for the official investigation announced by the Government. We expect to meet with relevant statutory agencies to learn about their findings, and we will offer our assistance in their endeavours and within our capabilities.
Professor Méndez is an eminent human-rights lawyer, scholar, former UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, and an expert on transitional justice, the latter focused on societies affected by political and ethnic conflict. He said:
“I look forward to explaining the Inquiry’s terms of reference, which includes hearing directly from residents across all communities in Leicester. I would encourage statutory agencies to participate in this Inquiry so that we can learn from and act on the lessons collectively. With the full participation of Leicester’s diverse communities, we expect to produce a resource with recommendations for many actors that may help ease prevailing tensions and build a more harmonious and shared community”.
“SOAS is pleased to take this important step in pursuit of answers to the troubling events of last summer and to find ways to prevent a recurrence,” said the University’s Director, Adam Habib.
For further enquiries, please contact the Press Office at SOAS, press@soas.ac.uk.
Notes for Editors
1. Inquiry Panel Members. In addition to Juan Méndez, the full Inquiry panel includes Schona Jolly KC, leading counsel at Cloisters Chambers (UK) and Head of its Human Rights Practice Group and its International Law Group; Lisa Magarrell, a human rights and transitional justice expert based in New York who was an advisor to the community-based Greensboro Truth and Reconciliation Commission in North Carolina; Subir Sinha, Reader in Development Studies at SOAS; Chetan Bhatt, Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics; and Suresh Grover of The Monitoring Group, a respected London-based human rights and anti-racist organisation that meets regularly with civil society representatives in Leicester. He will help facilitate engagement with the people of Leicester. Prominent community activists, including Umesh Patel and Naim Razak, have agreed to serve as part of a local advisory group to the Inquiry.
2. The call for an independent inquiry arose from local meetings in Leicester, and the Inquiry will seek the widest participation from those affected.
3. For further enquiries, leicesterinquiry@soas.ac.uk
ENDS