A tested program makes justice more accessible in the North and East
Asia Foundation support extends the community mediation boards
Restoring workable avenues for citizens to resolve personal conflicts and seek redress is badly needed in the Northern and Eastern Provinces where the justice system was impaired as a result of the armed conflict. Disputes between individuals, if not addressed and effectively resolved, can simmer and escalate into wider conflict that further divides communities.
With assistance from the Foundation, Sri Lanka's Ministry of Justice extended its community mediation boards program for the first time to the North and re-activated boards in the East where the war had interrupted this important service. Sri Lanka's mediation boards were initiated in 1990 as an alternative form of dispute resolution, providing accessible, timely and affordable justice by settling disputes between individuals, families, and small groups. However, boards had never been established in some areas of the North and many boards had become inactive in the East due to the war. Today, 13 boards are active in Jaffna District and 39 boards in Trincomalee, Batticaloa, and Ampara Districts with over 600 mediators trained on interest-based mediation to serve communities in these areas. Mediators are drawn from their communities and serve voluntarily. Both parties to a dispute have to agree on the settlement before a case is considered resolved. The Foundation is currently supporting the Ministry of Justice to increase the number of women mediators and establish new boards in Vavuniya, Mannar, Kilinochchi and Mulaitivu Districts.
Read an overview of the Sri Lanka Community Mediation Boards project.
An ambitious pilot resolves crimes and promotes peace
Successful Asia Foundation police reforms inspire local effort
Reconciliation and security are recognized as musts in Sri Lanka, and the police forces are in a unique position to contribute. In fact, the Inspector General of Police, in a stark departure from the forces' history of rigid, armed policing, rolled out a vision in 2010 to make the organization people-friendly, professional, and in service to all ethnicities, including the Tamil minority. In order to assist systemically in security, safety, and crime prevention, our local staff looked to the successes of previous Asia Foundation police reform programs in other countries. Concluding that mutual trust between officers and communities must be carefully cultivated, particularly in multi-ethnic communities, they designed and launched a localized pilot program. The pilot includes forums where residents and community leaders share needs for security and protection; neighborhood watch strategies; and conflict and crime mapping.
Twenty-four community police forums, in partnership with 14 police stations, are now active. The work builds on a pioneering initiative begun in 2006 to teach police officers Tamil. Nearly 900 police officers have received Tamil-language training and been posted in Tamil majority areas including the Northern and Eastern Provinces and multi-ethnic districts across the country, progressing the vision of the Inspector General of Police to have a third of the police force speak Tamil.