A Conference titled
“Human Security : Sri Lanka”
was held in Bern, Switzerland on Tuesday 9th September
organized by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
Swiss Federal Councillor (Minister of
Foreign Affairs) Micheline Calmy-Rey made the opening
speech after the welcome address by Ambassador Peter Maurer,
Head of the Political Affairs Directorate of the Swiss
Foreign Ministry. The Guest Speaker was Mr. Ian Martin,
Advisor on human rights issues to the Sri Lankan peace
talks, Vice President of the International Centre for
Transitional Justice and former Secretary-General of Amnesty
International.
The Conference also had 3 separate workshops
on; Power Sharing and Decentralization – Federalism:
A Possible Solution for Sri Lanka; Gender as a Determining
Factor: the Role of Women and Men in Conflicts and in
Peace Process; and Migration: Emigration and Return.
Ambassador Bernard Goonetilleke, Director-General
of the Peace Secretariat of the Government of Sri Lanka
addressed Workshop I. Other participants were Mr. S. Pulithevan,
Secretary-General of LTTE Peace Secretariat, Prof. Daniel
Thürer, Director of the Institute of International
Law, University of Zurich and Prof. Thomas Fleiner, Director
of Institute of Federalism of the University of Fribourg.
The moderator was Mr. Martin Stürzinger, Advisor
for Peace-building in Sri Lanka, Political Affairs Division
of the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs.
Participants in Workshop II were Ms Kumudini
Samuel, Member of the Government delegation in the Sub-Committee
on Gender Issues, Ms Revathy, representing the LTTE, Dr.
Gunther Baechler, Director of the Crisis Prevention and
Conflict Transformation Division of the Swiss Agency for
Development Co-operation and Dr. Cordula Reimann, of the
Centre for Peace building, Swisspeace. The Workshop II
was moderated by journalist Katharina Schindler.
Participants in Workshop III were Urs
von Arb, Vice Director Federal Office for Refugees, Nagesh
Uruthira Moorthi, Basel based organisation for Asylum
Seekers, Chitra Russo from “Meeting place for Tamil
Women” in Zurich and Dr. Damaris Lüthi, Institute
of Ethnology, University of Berne. This Workshop was moderated
by journalist Stefan Regez.
At her opening speech, the Swiss Foreign
Minister said Switzerland interest in Sri Lanka was in
line with the Swiss policy of supporting civilian peace-building,
promoting peace, and upholding the respect for human rights.
Switzerland is prepared to invest in peace policy, and
the conference was being held to find out how Switzerland
could increase its involvement and learn from other experiences.
Ms Calmy-Rey also observed that Switzerland has one of
the largest Tamil diaspora populations . The total budget
of Swiss projects in Sri Lanka amounts to 8 million Swiss
Francs, but all these projects will bear fruit only with
peace. She further highlighted the importance of the gender
aspects in all attempts at conflict resolution. In conclusion,
Ms Calmy-Rey outlined her vision of a Sri Lanka on which
peaceful co-existence in a multi-ethnic, multi-religious
and multi-cultural society is possible. Mr. Ian Martin
also addressed the gathering and stressed the importance
of the respect for human rights for peace to be sustainable.
Approximately 300 persons from Sri Lankan
expatriate community in Switzerland, the diplomatic community,
international organizations and civil society participated
at the Conference.