The International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES) will conduct a series of dialogues indifferent parts of the country, to provide space for civil and political society to explore the complexities of pursuing justice in a complex and volatile, post-war context. The long-term objective of this initiative is to contribute to the generation of an organic and relevant transitional justice process in Sri Lanka. This initiative seeks to do this by providing space for key decision-makers from different communities to dialogue and debate the variety of different options that may be available, in order to forge at ransitional justice process that is sensitive to the peculiarities of the Sri Lankan conflict.

The dialogues will focus on the relevance of a range of transitional justice mechanisms to respond to claims from the past. Transitional justice experts and activists from post conflict societies will be invited as key resource persons to stimulate the dialogues. One of the key objectives of the process will be to enhance the knowledge levels and intellectual understanding of key decision-makers about the range of transitional justice mechanisms that are available. A summary of the discussion will be captured both audio-visually and in printed form.

The dialogues will take place in a political environment that has transformed significantly after the 2015 January Presidential Election. The space has now emerged for a serious, candid and sophisticated discussion about transitional justice processes in Sri Lanka. The moment is ripe, for civil society to lead the debates on transitional justice and to provide intellectual and other forms of support to government and other key actors to implement a transitional justice process that is relevant in Sri Lanka.