In August-September 2022, serious violence between South Asians from Hindu and Muslim backgrounds shocked the city of Leicester, East Midlands, a city often viewed as a model for community harmony and conviviality. The violence threatened to spread to other major cities in Britain and had international repercussions.
The Independent Commission of Inquiry will investigate the reasons for the violence and community disharmony in Leicester in 2022.
Read the full terms of reference
Inquiry Panel
The Commission of Inquiry will be chaired by Juan Méndez, Professor of Human Rights Law at Washington College of Law, American University. Juan Méndez was United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. He was also Special Advisor to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. The Chair is a renowned, experienced international expert of independence and probity, and panel members were selected because of their independence, experience, and legal and academic expertise. The composition of the Inquiry panel reflects knowledge and expertise in law and policy, human rights, anti-discrimination, work in South Asian communities, and academic research methods.
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 (US).
Subir Sinha, Reader, Department of Development Studies, School of Oriental and African Studies.
Chetan Bhatt, Professor, Department of Sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Suresh Grover, Founder and national coordinator, The Monitoring Group, a pre-eminent organization working against racism and discrimination since the late 1970s, and which played a leading role in several public inquiries, including the Stephen Lawrence, Zahid Mubarek and Victoria Climbié inquiries and numerous other campaigns.