Peace as a Process: Reflections from Sri Lanka
On 21st September, the world marked the International Day of Peace. In Sri Lanka, that date feels heavier than in many other places. It pulls us back to a painful history of war and division, and it forces us to ask: what kind of future are we really building? Peace is not just the absence of war, but a long, uneven process of truth-telling, healing, justice, accountability, and reconciliation. Sometimes it moves forward, often it pauses, and almost always it’s contested. Yet despite everything, peace is still being written. You see it in the mothers searching for their disappeared children, and in the schoolchildren who run reconciliation clubs in their communities.
Sixteen years after the guns went silent, Sri Lanka is still caught between the past and the future. Families keep searching for loved ones who vanished without a trace. Communities remain divided, bound more by mistrust than trust. And yet, across the country, grassroots organisations, women’s groups, youth initiatives, and even artists are doing the everyday work of keeping the hope of peace alive.
Remembering the Past
Sri Lanka’s civil war ended in 2009, but its wounds remain open. Tens of thousands of people are still missing, their families left with questions rather than answers. Daily life for these families is marked not only by grief, but also by the silence and intimidation that often surround their pursuit of truth.
Institutions that were meant to help have struggled to earn trust. The Office on Missing Persons (OMP), set up in 2016, was supposed to be a turning point – an independent body to trace the missing, identify remains, and seek accountability where appropriate. In practice, however, the OMP has struggled to deliver. A lack of political will and inadequate resources have slowed it down to the point where many families see it as more symbolic than effective. Even with renewed promises from the new government, we have seen little to no progress in the past year. Instead of restoring confidence, institutions like the OMP have often deepened mistrust. This gap has forced families and civil society groups to carry forward the work of remembrance themselves.
NGOs as Peacebuilders
Where formal mechanisms have faltered, civil society has stepped in. Across the island, you will find groups creating spaces where truth can be spoken, trauma can be confronted, and former adversaries can sit together in dialogue. Peace, after all, doesn’t only emerge from courtrooms or parliament chambers. It’s built in schoolyards, village halls, and even art galleries.
The Association of War Affected Women (AWAW) is one such example. Women – often the ones carrying the heaviest burdens after conflict – have become powerful mediators and advocates through AWAW’s efforts. Their work is a reminder that peace isn’t only about signing agreements; it’s also about repairing relationships, especially at the community level. Likewise, coalitions like People Unite for Justice and Accountability (PUJA), led by the National Peace Council, are working to keep accountability on the agenda. They have brought civil society organizations together from all 25 districts to push for justice, support families of the disappeared, and challenge the culture of impunity through empathy-building and memorialisation.
Art and culture are also playing a vital role in the peacebuilding process. The Traveling History Museum, for example, is literally a museum on the move. Launched in 2023 by Search for Common Ground, it brings stories, performances, and interactive exhibits from town to town, asking people to re-examine history and identity in more pluralistic ways. The Kilinochchi Peace Gallery does something similar, challenging official narratives of the war by giving space to silenced stories and difficult memories. These exhibitions strive to create immersive, empathetic experiences that foster peacebuilding through victim-centered and conflict-sensitive approaches.
Similarly, long-standing organisations like Sarvodaya have worked at the village level to foster dialogue and community development as foundations for peace across the North, East, and South. In Batticaloa, the Butterfly Peace Garden pioneered psychosocial healing by using art and play to help war-affected children and adults process trauma and rebuild trust. Each of these efforts, in its own way, keeps the idea of peace alive at the grassroots.
Youth Groups: Building the Future of Peace
Young people carry the heaviest weight of a violent past, but they also represent the strongest hopes for the future. Growing up in the long shadow of conflict, Sri Lankan youth are refusing to give in to division. Instead, they are creating new spaces for dialogue, trust, and reconciliation.
Take Sri Lanka Unites (SLU) for example. Since 2007, SLU has brought together students from more than 300 schools across all 25 districts (with support from the UNAOC). Through leadership training, peace education, and community projects, SLU enables teenagers from different backgrounds to meet and learn from one another – often bridging divides that might otherwise never be crossed. Another initiative, YouLEAP, supported by Helvetas, worked with young people from the North, East, and South between 2016 and 2024. It gave them practical tools in conflict transformation, intercultural dialogue, and leadership so they could lead reconciliation efforts in their own communities. Programs like these show that young people don’t just want to talk about peace; they want to practice it.
Meanwhile, the International Youth Alliance for Peace (IYAP) has built a nationwide platform since 2013. With a presence in 18 districts and partnerships with over 140 organisations, IYAP has trained emerging youth leaders through collaborative programs. Since its inception, it has launched more than 100 peace projects and impacted over 25,000 lives. These youth-led efforts underscore a crucial point: peace is a living, ongoing responsibility, and the next generation is already carrying it forward.
The Political Moment: An Opportunity at Risk
When Sri Lankans elected a new government in 2024, there was a ripple of hope. Many families of victims and civil society groups thought maybe this time will be different. The campaign promises were full of words we’ve long waited to see put into action: human rights, transparency, accountability, justice. For a moment, it felt like the country might finally turn a page and address the deep wounds left by war.
But nearly a year on, progress has been painfully limited. The reality has not matched the rhetoric. Institutions like the OMP are still struggling to prove they can deliver results. Families who have been waiting years for answers continue to wait. The most recent UN human rights report on Sri Lanka urged deep structural reforms, and it called on the international community to use all available tools – including universal jurisdiction and targeted sanctions – to advance justice and accountability. These are key elements of peacebuilding that cannot be neglected.
Sri Lanka has been here before: at a junction where meaningful change was possible, but politics got in the way. Every day of delay only deepens the wounds of victims’ families and makes it harder to rebuild trust between communities. It’s clear that political leaders cannot create lasting stability by dodging accountability or silencing uncomfortable truths. This is why international oversight and pressure remain so crucial to keep Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process from derailing once again.
International Solidarity: Why the World Still Matters
Sri Lanka’s journey toward peace has never happened in isolation. International solidarity – whether through the United Nations, partner governments, diaspora networks, or global civil society – has consistently helped keep justice and reconciliation on the agenda.
For over a decade, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva has provided a platform for victims’ voices when they were silenced at home. Resolutions mandating evidence collection and monitoring – such as the UN’s Sri Lanka Accountability Project – haven’t delivered closure on their own, but they have created pressure, and that pressure matters. It means the pursuit of truth cannot simply be buried or forgotten.
International NGOs and cultural exchange projects have also complemented local peacebuilders. Initiatives like the Traveling History Museum (supported by the European Union and the German Foreign Office) show how external partnerships can empower local organisations to create imaginative spaces for pluralism and dialogue. Similarly, collaborations between foreign embassies and Sri Lankan civil society demonstrate that sensitive, well-designed international engagement can amplify community voices. In short, when the world pays attention and stands in solidarity, it bolsters those on the ground who are working for peace.
Way Forward: Building Peace Through Justice
Sixteen years after the war, Sri Lanka stands at another crossroads. The country can either slip back into the old pattern of broken promises and silence, or finally embrace the hard work of truth, justice, and reconciliation needed for a lasting peace. The time for action is now. The government must act to:
– Rebuild trust in institutions. Ensure bodies tasked with truth and justice are truly independent, transparent, and accountable to the public. In particular, strengthen the Office on Missing Persons so that it is fully independent, adequately resourced, and free from political interference, and provide regular updates to victims’ families on its progress.
–End intimidation and surveillance. Stop the harassment of families of the disappeared, human rights defenders, journalists, and activists. People should be able to remember and advocate for truth without living in fear.
–Put victims at the center of rehabilitation efforts. Any recovery and reconciliation programs must prioritize the needs of victims and survivors. Establish support systems to address their psychosocial needs, ensuring they have access to counseling, financial assistance, and other services to help heal the trauma of conflict.
–Empower young people to bridge divides. Invest in youth clubs, arts programs, and leadership initiatives that bring together young people from different communities. The next generation should be given the tools and space to build trust and understanding across ethnic and religious lines.
–Protect spaces of memory. Preserve community memorials, museums, galleries, and public commemorations so that the past can be remembered honestly. A society must be able to acknowledge its history openly if it hopes to learn from it and avoid repeating it.
–Keep international solidarity alive. Work with the UN, partner governments, and global civil society as allies in the peace process. International partners should continue to monitor progress, support local initiatives, and stand alongside Sri Lankan communities to ensure that justice and accountability remain front and center.
Peace is a process – slow, challenging, but not impossible. Each of these steps is part of that larger journey. On this International Day of Peace, and every day, Sri Lankans from all walks of life are showing that the story of peace is still being written. It’s up to all of us, inside and outside the country, to help write the next chapter – one that finally delivers the justice, healing, and lasting peace that the people of Sri Lanka deserve.
