News

Several leaders of civil society organisations met at the Methodist Church Headquarters in Colombo to assess their situation. Bishop Asiri Perera said the situation in the country had deteriorated since they had last met several months ago. The country’s leaders were less interested in good governance than in who should rule. There were rumours of snap elections. Those against peace and reconciliation were vociferous.

NPC, under its IMPACT project, held a seminar on Transitional Justice (TJ) mechanisms and the government’s reconciliation process for youth parliamentarians in collaboration with the National Youth Services Council (NYSC) in the Gampaha district.

An awareness raising seminar was held for 50 senior students in the Trincomalee District and 85 senior students in the Batticaloa district under NPC’s project Inter-faith and Inter-ethnic Dialogue in Sri Lanka.

A one day mediation training programme was conducted for 36 members of Weligama Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC). Participants included religious leaders, police officers, Grama Niladharis, NGO and CBO representatives and government officers.

Fifty three students from the University of The Visual and Performing Arts were trained on Transitional Justice (TJ) under NPC’s project, Youth Engagement with Transitional Justice for Long-lasting Peace in Sri Lanka.

Thirty two participants attended a two-day training programme for volunteers at the Human Rights First Aid Centre in Gampaha under NPC’s project, Accountability through Community Engagement and Initiatives for Transition (ACE-IT), which is funded by the European Union.

Galle District Inter Religious Committee (DIRC) organized a programme on nonviolence for 60 inmates in the Galle Prison under NPC’s project Religions to Reconcile, which is implemented in partnership with Generations for Peace (GFP), an international peace building organization based in Amman, Jordan.

A two day leadership training programme for 35 Steering Committee members of the Badulla, Vavuniya, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Ratnapura, Puttalam and Kurunegala DIRCs and their partner organizations was held in Kalutara under NPC’s IMPACT project.

NPC staff and about 80 District Inter Religious Committee members from six districts joined a civil society protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence to urge a swift end to the Constitutional crisis facing the country.

A one day mediation training programme was conducted for 36 members of Weligama Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC). Participants included religious leaders, police officers, Grama Niladharis, NGO and CBO representatives and government officers.

NPC coordinated civil society discussions on Sri Lanka’s sixth periodic statement on the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The statement will be presented to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.

A peace walk with the theme of religious coexistence through the strengthening of pluralism and the rule of law was organized by Addalaichchenai Local Inter Religious Committee (LIRC) to commemorate the International Day of Peace under NPC’s Collective Engagement for Religious Freedom (CERF) project.

A training workshop on Transitional Justice (TJ) was held in Vavuniya for 37 youths in the Vavuniya and Mannar districts under NPC’s project Youth Engagement with Transitional Justice for long-lasting Peace in Sri Lanka.

A collective leadership training for 40 members of eight DIRC steering committees was held in Kalutara under NPC’s IMPACT project.

DIRC members and other participants including religious leaders from Puttalam and Mannar travelled to Nuwara Eliya for an inter district exchange visit under NPC’s Religions to Reconcile project.

A workshop on Writing Truths: The Power of Testimony was presented Dr Minoli Salgado for NPC staff and other civil society participants to explore key concepts in testimony studies and examine their relationship to the Sri Lankan context with a view to developing a survivor-centred approach in the production and reception of testimonies in the country.