Speaker:
Dr Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu
Description:
Constitutional reform is one of the challenges with which Sri Lanka now needs to grapple in moving from a post-war to a post-conflict situation. It is a necessary, although by no means sufficient, condition for reconciliation and durable peace. It could also assist to address the growing democratic deficit in governance, of which the culture of impunity and the near collapse of the rule of law, institutionalised militarisation and growing religious intolerance are key and dangerous features. Whilst the government has promised a political settlement of the ethnic conflict to complement the military defeat of the LTTE, there has been no movement on this front. Most importantly, provisions of the Constitution in respect of the devolution of power have yet to be implemented in any of the 9 provinces in the country. Is Sri Lanka willing to create a constitutional architecture which reflects the
pluralism inherent in its peoples and a political culture that sustains it?
Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is the founder Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, (CPA). He has presented papers on governance and peace in Sri Lanka at a number of international conferences and is widely quoted in the international and local media.
In 2010, he was awarded the inaugural Citizens Peace Award by the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, and in 2011, he was invited by the German Government to be a Member of the International Jury to choose an universally recognized human rights logo. In September 2013, he was invited by President Obama to attend his "High Level Event On Civil Society", in New York.
He is also a founder director of the Sri Lanka Chapter of Transparency International and a founding Co- Convenor of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), which has monitored all the major elections in Sri Lanka since 1997. In 2004 he was an Eisenhower Fellow (2004). Currently, he is Chairperson of the Eisenhower Fellows, Sri Lanka, member of the Board of the Berghof Foundation, the South Asia Transparency Advisory Group and a Member of the Gratiaen Trust.
Venue:
Room 609, Level 6
Address:
Melbourne Law School 185 Pelham Street Carlton VIC 3053
Admission:
Online registration required
Contact Person:
Jean Goh
Contact Details:
or 03-8344 1011