Sri Lanka

The United States Institute of Peace’s Truth Commissions Digital Collection is part of the Margarita S. Studemeister Digital Library in International Conflict Management.  The collection contains profiles of truth commissions and substantive bodies of inquiry from nations worldwide - offering general background information on the composition of each body, links to the official legislative texts establishing such commissions, and each commission's final reports and findings.

USIP identifies and applies best practices in seven topical areas whose issues cross each phase of conflict through this series of Centers.

Gender and Peacebuilding Center Director, Kathleen Kuehnast, discusses USIP's focus on women's equality in 2011 and looks ahead at the gender projects USIP will work on in 2012.

Religion is often seen as the cause of strife around the globe, but in reality, it can provide the foundation for what helps to end conflict. USIP’s work, from Indonesia to Pakistan, demonstrates that religion can play a positive role in managing conflict. USIP’s David Smock, senior vice president for the Centers of Innovation, explores the issue in this brief question-and-answer.

This event will feature a film documentary produced by the USIP 2010 Youth Diaspora Conference which brought together youth originally from Haiti, Nigeria, Iraq and Sri Lanka, now living in the Washington, D.C. area to share their stories and learn creative ways to engage in positive social change.  After the screening, participants from the 2010 conference will discuss the film, their own experiences as youth in the diaspora and will take on the challenges facing diaspora in the U.S. as well as opportunities for engagement in peacebuilding.

To better understand the experiences of young diaspora in the United States, integrate their voices into policy dialogues, and encourage youth engagement in peacebuilding, the United States Institute of Peace in partnership with Search for Common Ground and Nomadic Wax, organized the 2010 Youth Diaspora Conference. The Conference was an opportunity for young diaspora from different countries of origin to share their experiences and learn how they can creatively engage in peacebuilding. An evening reception celebrated the conclusion of the 2010 Youth Diaspora Conferece, featuring a keynote address by Grace Akallo.

USIP reports on how religious leaders are working to build peace in Sri Lanka after 26 years of civil war between the government and separatist rebels.

The Religion and Peacemaking program conducts research, identifies best practices, and develops new peacebuilding tools for religious leaders and organizations; helps define and shape the field of religious peacebuilding; and in cooperation with USIP's other Centers, develops and implements integrated strategies for the Institute's conflict-specific work, including projects with religious communities in zones of conflict.