DIRC Batticaloa organised a peace walk through Batticaloa town to urge the government to focus on several important issues facing the country including the abolition of the Executive Presidency, Constitutional reform, finding missing persons, releasing of political prisoners and punishment for corruption.

NPC has commenced a new project entitled Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF), aimed at promoting religious freedom within the framework of pluralism and the rule of law, to be implemented in the Vavuniya, Mannar, Kandy, Badulla, Kalutara, Gampaha, Matara and Ampara districts.

Aspects of the new Constitution were discussed and misconceptions were cleared up at a meeting organized by Kandy DIRC under NPC’s project Initiating Multi Level Partnership Action for Conflict Transformation (IMPACT). Around 100 DIRC members, religious leaders and activists, of whom 30 per cent were women, participated.

Badulla DIRC organised a peace walk through Badulla town for raising awareness on building national unity through inter religious harmony. DIRC members met several leaders of the four religions to obtain their support for the walk and to set the agenda.

About 400 people marched through Vavuniya town in support of families of the disappeared. A letter requesting information about missing people and demanding justice was handed over to TNA MP Sivashakthi Anandan, who promised to give it to the President and Prime Minister.

Young people in the multi ethnic Trincomalee district were given the opportunity to interact with their peers of different religions and ethnicities to celebrate Youth Day. The activity was organized by Trincomalee District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) under NPC’s Promoting Inter-faith and Inter-ethnic Dialogue project.

Batticaloa District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) worked with religious leaders and government officials to end a conflict over burial grounds in the Vaharai area. Pressure and advocacy of the members resulted in government land being allocated for a new graveyard for non Catholics.

Hambantota town in a multi religious and multi ethnic place; although the majority are Sinhalese, there is a sizeable Muslim and Tamil population. For many years people of different ethnicities and religions have lived in harmony without disputes or conflicts.

NPC’s project, Post Conflict Healing: A Women’s Manifesto, was implemented with the support of FOKUS from April 2014 to December 2016 in nine districts across the country that were both directly and indirectly affected by the war: Vavuniya, Mannar, Trincomalee, Ampara, Galle, Hambantota, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Puttalam.

About us

The National Peace Council (NPC) was established as an independent and impartial national non-government organization