1. Capacity-building and peace-building
Since the end of the Cold War, the many regional conflicts breaking out all over the world have been regarded as religious or ethnic conflicts. However, it is not that simple. Relationships based on political and economic interests are in fact at the heart of what appear to be religious or ethnic conflicts. Also, it is civilians, and particularly women and children, who suffer the most as victims of these conflicts. People living at the grassroots level have been co-existing for centuries. It is when people suffer from discrimination and become politicized and radicalized that they resort to arms.

In Sri Lanka too, the conflict is considered to be between the Singhalese (Buddhists), the Tamils (Hindus) and Muslims. However, the roots of the conflict are in fact discrimination between majority and minority groups and human rights violations rather than religious and ethnic issues. It is necessary to construct a system that enshrines the equal rights and obligations of all the people. To achieve this, a wide spectrum of people must be involved in peace-building efforts. The first step is to build capacity and mutual understanding through dialogue, which leads to mutual approval, acceptance, reconciliation and coexistence.


2. The Importance of Communication
Language is a significant barrier to the progress of this dialogue. The Singhalese’ and Muslims’ use of Singhalese and the Tamils’ use of Tamil results in a communication gap. This lack of understanding is a major factor in the build-up of fear and mutual distrust.

In the North-East of Sri Lanka conflict between the government and the anti-government organization LTTE (the Tamil tigers) has destroyed the social and economic infrastructure, which has robbed many youth of educational and job opportunities. To secure food and income, they have had no choice but to enlist in the military. In the case of the Singhalese this has meant joining the government forces: in the case of the Tamils it has meant joining the LTTE. It is necessary to provide these youth with educational opportunities and the means to become economically independent.


3. Conflict Prevention Workshops
In 2000, JCCP established its Representative’s Office in Sri Lanka, Colombo. At present Acting Representative Ikegami Yoshiharu and two other members of staff are managing conflict prevention activities there. This Office, in collaboration with a local NGO "National Peace Council", is running Conflict Prevention Workshops, which enable local leaders to gain an insight into the issues at the heart of conflict and learn dialogue skills. This is one element in an enlightenment process that, through exploration of the causes of conflict and mutual understanding, contributes towards peace-building. Furthermore, the participants contribute to the same in their hometowns through conducting small-scale workshops there. Through these activities, JCCP pursues its goal of developing a nationwide "Common Agenda" for conflict resolution at the same time as developing the capabilities of those involved in conflict prevention activities at the local level.


4. Inter-faith Peace Conferences
JCCP co-sponsors Inter-faith Peace Conferences with the Sewa Lanka Foundation, a local NGO. At a conference in October 2001 at Trincomalee, North-East Sri Lanka, not only the leaders of the four main religions, but also ambassadors from various countries and representatives of international institutions took part in four days of lively discussions. In a society of many faiths such as Sri Lanka, religious leaders have a great deal of influence. Because of this, promoting dialogue between different religions is a prerequisite of peace.