BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

PEACE-BUILDING IN SRI LANKA: THE ROLE FOR NGOS

Author: S.Y. Surendra Kumar

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2007v28n1a4

ABSTRACT

In the contemporary world, the Non-government Organizations (NGOs) have a potential role in mitigating large scale suffering inthe affected regions, preventing violent conflicts, working in war zones, supporting reconstruction programmes, negotiations and settlements. And in the process, there have been many successful stories of NGOs around the world and at the same time in manysituations NGOs have also become part of the problem by either generating or escalating conflict. In this context, this article deals with the NGOs (dealing with peace work, human rights and democratic restructuring) in the ethnically polarized protractedconflict of Sri Lanka. It analyses the possible role of NGOs in peace-building exercise and the activities they carry out for building peace like addressing the ethnic divides, shaping the public opinion, political mobilization, and reconstruction and development activities. It also examines the major obstacles the NGOs often confront towards building peace such as ethnic polarization, inadequate NGOs activities, violent atmosphere, strong anti-peace lobby and so on. Finally, it analyses the impact of the present scenario in Sri Lanka on the NGOs quest for establishing peace.