Media Releases

International Day of Peace 2026 is being observed under the theme “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” This is an occasion for us in Sri Lanka to reflect on the fact that investing in peace must include confronting the unfinished business of the past, protecting civic freedoms, reforming laws that facilitate abuse, ensuring accountability and building genuine equality among all communities. The National Peace Council acknowledges that Sri Lanka has made significant progress in its progress to peace. The 2026 Global Peace Index has shown Sri Lanka moving from 97th to 67th among 163 countries. It recorded the largest percentage improvement in South Asia, even as global peacefulness continued to decline. Sri Lanka’s challenge is to convert greater stability into a deeper peace based on human rights, equality, justice, accountability and reconciliation.

International Day of Peace 2026 is being observed under the theme “Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.” This is an occasion for us in Sri Lanka to reflect on the fact that investing in peace must include confronting the unfinished business of the past, protecting civic freedoms, reforming laws that facilitate abuse, ensuring accountability and building genuine equality among all communities. The National Peace Council acknowledges that Sri Lanka has made significant progress in its progress to peace. The 2026 Global Peace Index has shown Sri Lanka moving from 97th to 67th among 163 countries. It recorded the largest percentage improvement in South Asia, even as global peacefulness continued to decline. Sri Lanka’s challenge is to convert greater stability into a deeper peace based on human rights, equality, justice, accountability and reconciliation.

The latest report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights recognises positive steps, including action against corruption, but also identifies continuing concerns over arbitrary arrests and detention, the Prevention of Terrorism Act, torture and deaths in custody, surveillance and intimidation of civil society, journalists and activists, and the failure to resolve serious human rights cases. The government’s failure to deliver tangible progress on accountability for enforced disappearances and other grave violations is particularly troubling. NPC calls on the government to resource forensic and prosecutorial capacity and report publicly on progress in missing-persons cases and mass-grave investigations.

There remains a serious gap between the government’s commitments and its performance. The failure to address the grazing land issues of Batticaloa (Mylathamadu-Mathavanai) is a serious violation despite many orders of various courts and directions from the present and past President. NPC calls on the government to intervene and resolve this issue immediately if it is to be seen as equitable to all communities.

The government’s approach to civic space is also increasingly concerning. The proposed new NGO law, currently under discussion, contains sweeping provisions for State oversight and control of civil society organisations. Civil society organisations have raised concerns that the legislation could give the authorities excessive discretion over registration and operations. Past experience shows how  state officials have violated many principles of democracy and more power may actually promote such in the future too as a human tendency is to abuse power unless it is checked and balanced. A government committed to democracy and good governance should welcome independent civil society, including organisations that scrutinise government policy, expose abuses and advocate for citizens’ rights. Regulation and financial accountability are legitimate objectives, but they must not become instruments for restricting criticism or controlling independent organisations.

Peace cannot be sustained if the state uses war time and restrictive laws against its own citizens or leaves victims waiting decades for truth and justice. Families have waited for decades for the truth about what happened to their loved ones. Institutions and commissions cannot substitute indefinitely for effective investigations, prosecutions and reparations. Peace also cannot be sustained if it curtails the independent civil society organisations that support reconciliation at the grassroots. Sri Lanka has moved forward, but the government must do much more to ensure that this progress is consolidated. A higher position in a global peace index is encouraging. It is not a certificate of absolute success. Lasting peace will depend on whether the government is prepared to protect the rights, freedoms and dignity of all its citizens across the geographic and ethnic boundaries and match its commitments with action.

Governing Council

The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.

The proposed 22nd Amendment to the Constitution seeks to extend the retirement age of judges by two years. The government proposes to raise the retirement age of Supreme Court judges from 65 to 67 and Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65, with corresponding amendments for the other courts. The government’s main justification is to retain experienced judges, address the substantial backlog of cases and ensure continuity in ongoing proceedings. At a time when the courts are dealing with major criminal and corruption cases as well as a significant backlog, the experience and skills of senior judges are important institutional assets.

The tragic loss of life in the Negombo Prison violence in which 29 people, including seven prison officers, lost their lives and more than one hundred others were injured is a wake-up call to the government. This was a disaster born of systemic apathy, political failure, and societal indifference. While the conditions that made such a disaster possible have accumulated over decades under successive governments, the present government had a duty to anticipate the danger, respond swiftly and competently once violence erupted, and protect the lives of those in its custody. The finding of a large number of weapons inside the prison needs to be specially investigated as it suggests planned action to create strife and chaos. This duty was not fulfilled by those in charge, meaning that the state failed in its most basic duty to protect life.

The National Peace Council congratulates the government and the people of Sri Lanka on the country's rise from 97th to 67th place in the 2026 Global Peace Index. At a time when global peacefulness has declined for the twelfth consecutive year and South Asia has become one of the world's least peaceful regions, Sri Lanka's achievement demonstrates that progress is possible when democratic governance, accountability and political stability are strengthened. However, this important achievement should not lead to complacency. It should provide the impetus to complete the reforms that remain unfinished and that are essential to securing a just and lasting peace.

The government has announced the second phase of its plantation reform programme, aimed at attracting private and corporate investment by opening underutilised land and assets to investment, modernising the sector and generating new employment. The National Peace Council supports these objectives. However, we urge the government to ensure that economic transformation is accompanied by social justice. An Amnesty International report on Malaiyaha Tamil workers released last week documents wage withholding, debt dependency and restrictions on movement in private tea estates. It is a reminder that reform is being proposed against a backdrop of active, ongoing abuse and not merely historical grievance. Economic transformation without social justice will repeat a pattern Sri Lanka must not repeat in which productivity gains and investment profits bypass the very workers whose labour made them possible. NPC urges that pattern must not be repeated.

The conclusion of the international Walk for Peace led by Most Venerable Bhikkhu Thich Paññākāra from Vietnam, that took place in Sri Lanka on April 21-18 generated interest and discussion across the country about the importance of peacebuilding and coexistence in the country. The public response to the walk, including support extended by people from different religious and ethnic communities, showed that there is much space within society for initiatives that encourage dialogue, restraint and mutual respect.

The call by Minister Bimal Rathnayake for Sri Lankan refugees in India to return home, with assurances of reintegration support, is a welcome and positive step. Encouraging refugee return is an important signal that the past is not being ignored. Nearly 90,000 Sri Lankan refugees remain in India, many of whom have lived there for 30 years or more. Their return cannot be treated as a routine administrative process. The government has a special responsibility to ensure that those who choose to return are received into a safe, supportive, and well-prepared environment. They must not be left stranded or pushed into already strained communities without adequate housing, livelihoods, and social support. The younger generation who may be part of the group returning home needs more assurances and inducements to live in a country which may be for the first time in their life.

A fundamental principle of justice is that equal treatment in unequal circumstances can produce unjust outcomes. The government under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recognised this principle when it provided an unprecedented daily subsidy to Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers in the 2026 budget.  In doing so it acknowledged that structural constraints in the plantation sector had led them to being denied them a long overdue wage increase. Cyclone Ditwah has now exposed again structural constraints in disaster relief and resettlement. The recovery process therefore presents an opportunity for the government to once again address the key constraint that has led to long standing injustice while rebuilding communities affected by the disaster.

Most Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers do not own the land on which they live or the houses they occupy which are managed by both state and plantation companies due to historical reasons. Due to this factor, they have been unable to access relief that the government has made available to other citizens affected by the same disaster. In the aftermath of the cyclone, the government announced relief measures ranging from Rs 25,000 for cleaning damaged houses to Rs 5 million for rebuilding destroyed homes. Access to this support is however linked to land and housing ownership, a condition that systematically excludes plantation workers.

At a recent discussion on post cyclone rebuilding hosted by the Centre for Policy Alternatives, it was noted that adequate land is available within plantation areas that can be allocated for housing. In recent years, significant areas of plantation land have been used for other economic purposes, including tourism, renewable energy and livestock farming. The allocation of plantation land for such activities demonstrates that land can be released where policy decisions permit. In addition, official assessments presented to Parliament and reviews conducted at ministry level have repeatedly acknowledged that substantial areas of plantation land remain underutilised or unproductive. Estimates run into tens of thousands of acres. These findings suggest that land availability is not the primary constraint.

The National Peace Council calls for the setting up of a land commission to facilitate the vesting of land ownership rights with Malaiyaha Tamil plantation workers in their resettlement process so that post cyclone recovery is fair, inclusive and consistent with the principles of justice. The government, under the leadership of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, has publicly committed itself to equal treatment and non-discrimination for all citizens. In the post-cyclone context, these commitments require targeted and timely governmental action for the sake of justice to a community that was discriminated against from the very beginning of the country’s Independence when they were denied their citizenship rights.

Governing Council

The National Peace Council is an independent and non partisan organization that works towards a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka. It has a vision of a peaceful and prosperous Sri Lanka in which the freedom, human rights and democratic rights of all the communities are respected. The policy of the National Peace Council is determined by its Governing Council of 20 members who are drawn from diverse walks of life and belong to all the main ethnic and religious communities in the country.

The National Peace Council welcomes the government’s decision to allow a two month period of public consultation on the proposed Protection of the State from Terrorism Act, intended to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Given Sri Lanka’s long and painful experience with national security legislation, this consultation period will provide a valuable opportunity to prevent the repetition of past mistakes. Meaningful public engagement prior to the enactment of a new anti-terrorism law is essential if the promise of system change is to be realised and if Sri Lanka is to avoid entrenching yet another draconian law whose consequences may be felt for decades to come.

The government is proceeding with its plans to hold Sri Lankan Day celebrations on December 12-14 in Colombo as a national platform to bring every community together. The event, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, aims to promote unity. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s recent outreach to Tamil and Muslim political parties to brief them on the preparations for Sri Lankan Day is a constructive step. Engagement of this nature strengthens trust and widens the sense of collective ownership.

Sri Lanka stands at a moment when political intent, social demand, and institutional opportunity align. The people have given the new government a decisive majority and a clear mandate for change. With a two-thirds majority in Parliament, a largely cooperative opposition, and an expectant population, the government now has a unique opportunity to deliver on its promises of system change and to move forward on long-delayed justice and reconciliation.

The long festering controversy over the installation of wind turbines on Mannar Island has taken a turn for the worse with mass demonstrations and a hartal taking place. The escalation has followed police forcibly removing protestors, including Catholic priests and women seated on the road preventing the transport of machinery to the proposed site. The National Peace Council expresses its concern at the situation and actions taken which have led to more polarization on the issue.

As Sri Lanka prepares to appear before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva this September under Resolution 51/2, the government will need to show more than promises. The UN Human Rights High Commissioner’s 2025 report recognises that the new government has both a historic opportunity and a clear mandate to deliver results. The continuation of arbitrary arrests under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, custodial deaths, intimidation of civil society and the discovery of mass graves such as at Chemmani the UN report highlights shows the urgency of action.

Forty-two years after the violence of Black July, Sri Lanka continues to live in the shadow of unacknowledged violence that shattered the lives of thousands of Tamil families. Homes were burned, livelihoods destroyed, and innocent lives lost. Starting from Colombo, the riots and violence spread countrywide. Hundreds of innocent people were killed. Tens of thousands displaced. But there has still been no full accounting, no official truth, no justice, and no assurance that it will not happen again. The National Peace Council (NPC) marks this anniversary not only to mourn the victims, but to affirm that there can be no lasting reconciliation without first confronting the past and finding a political solution that addresses the roots of the problem.

We mourn the passing of Dr. Norbert Ropers, a visionary peacebuilder, trusted friend, and devoted practitioner of nonviolence, whose profound commitment to dialogue and reconciliation helped shape more humane and inclusive futures across divided societies. His work, especially in Sri Lanka, left an indelible mark on the lives of countless individuals and communities striving for justice and peace.