News

Religious leaders and coordinators of District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) convened in Colombo for a National Inter Religious Committee meeting where they agreed to work with the new political leaders and use government mechanisms to promote reconciliation.

Over 540 students from 12 universities and another 400 grassroots level youth activists and leaders in 21 districts were trained on the Transitional Justice (TJ) process, enabling them to be active participants in the country’s reconciliation process under NPC’s two-year project, Youth engagement with Transitional Justice for Long-lasting peace in Sri Lanka, which concluded after two years.

An exchange visit between Addalachenai and Weligama Local Inter Religious Committees (LIRCs) was organized by NPC under its project Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF).

District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) Matara, in collaboration with a number of Community Based Organizations, organized a visit to build solidarity among the Muslim and Sinhala villagers in the village of Gandara. The visit was facilitated by the NPC under its Actively Countering Extremism (ACE) project, funded by Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives (CLFI).

Religious leaders and representatives of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) belonging to District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) from 16 districts participated in a four-day exchange visit to Batticaloa and Kattankudy.

The need to increase awareness among youth about the reconciliation process was a key finding of a research forum in Colombo to discuss issues related to the Transitional Justice (TJ) process that concern young men and women and their opinions on security, freedom and co-existence after the Easter Sunday attacks.

Training programmes on preparedness were held in Galle, Matara and Nuwara Eliya under NPC’s project Religions to Reconcile: Strengthening Inter-Religious People-to-People Community Engagement for Reconciliation and Social Cohesion in Post-Conflict Sri Lanka, which is supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) the U.S. Government’s development agency.

The National Inter Religious Committee (NIRC), comprising religious and civil society leaders from 16 districts, held a meeting and media conference in Colombo under NPC’s project Consolidating Ongoing Multi-level Partnership Actions for Conflict Transformation (COMPACT).

NPC organized a Civil Society Forum in Colombo that was attended representatives of 112 NGOs and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). The forum was the first meeting of the Civil Society Platform that was founded by NPC in collaboration with other organizations.

A multilevel school-based awareness campaign on reconciliation and social cohesion was conducted in Tellippalai, Jaffna, for 80 parents and teachers in three schools under NPC’s Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Activity, with support of its partner Social Organizations Networking for Development.

The Human Rights First Aid Centre in Galle held a workshop for 40 community leaders under NPC’s project Accountability Through Community Engagement and Initiatives for Transition (ACE-IT) to discuss Transitional Justice and the ongoing reconciliation mechanisms of the government including the Human Rights Commission, Office on Missing Persons (OMP), National Police Commission, and the Right to Information Act (RTI).

Religious leaders and representatives of Community Based Organizations (CBOs) belonging to District Inter Religious Committees (DIRCs) from 16 districts participated in a four-day exchange visit to Batticaloa and Kattankudy.

A workshop for 53 youth leaders involving games and discussions under NPC’s project Crossing Boundaries - Youth Groups in Sri Lanka, funded by Helvetas Sri Lanka, was held in Trincomalee.

An exposure visit for the Vavuniya and Akurana Local Inter Religious Committees (LIRCs) was conducted under NPC’s project Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF) with the support of Sarvodaya and the Rural Development Foundation Vavuniya.

A series of information sessions for police officers, security forces personnel and government sector officers on ethics, human rights and the Right To Information Act (RTI), Office on Missing Persons (OMP) and other independent commissions were completed under an European Union (EU) funded project being implemented in 11 districts.

Under the Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Activity, a group of 46 community members from Trincomalee visited Jaffna to celebrate International Peace Day and share their experiences.