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.