Sri Lanka

The relationship between Norway and Sri Lanka has increasingly normalised. Norway no longer has a special role in a peace process. The main objective of contributing to peace and national reconciliation which leads to a political solution acceptable to the minorities, is still important for this work. This is implemented through discussions at various levels, support to key players, as well as strategic use of peace and reconciliation funding and assistance.

The development focus:

• Support for economic development
• Support for national reconciliation
• Culture as an important toolIntegration of women and gender equality
• Environment and climate
• Fight against corruption

The Sri Lankan Army defeated the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) in May 2009, after 26 years of conflict. In the last phase of the war, Norway worked to alleviate the suffering of civilians, and encouraged the parties to comply with international law. The history of cooperation between Norway and Sri Lanka dates back to 1967 when Norway first started supporting development projects. The relationship between Norway and Sri Lanka is good, not least because of long-standing development cooperation. Norway's former role as facilitator in the peace process between the government and Tamil Tigers has made Norway well known in Sri Lanka, but it has also led to criticism of Norway.

A politicisation of projects and issues related to inappropriate use of funds has demanded considerable effort.

The phasing out of long-term assistance from regional allocations has begun, while transitional aid to war-torn areas in the north and east has increased.

Business and industry

According to an evaluation report published in December 2009, Norwegian enterprise-related support to Sri Lanka has had clear results at a local level and for the companies involved.

Norad's application-based support scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises, together with the match-making programme, has led to 44 Norwegian companies conducting active commercial enterprises in the country as of August 2009, with about 1 500 year-round jobs which have proved to be viable. 16 of these companies are engaged in trade, while 28 have industrial operations. A significant proportion of the jobs are located in the poorest areas of the country and the majority of those employed are women. The indirect employment effects of the Norwegian-supported business operations, in the form of work to subcontractors or the effects on employees' income, are not included.

These are results from a nationwide study of Norwegian industrial assistance to Sri Lanka, the first of the studies in a wider evaluation. An independent Swedish consultant team is currently conducting the evaluation, which will consist of country studies in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa and Uganda. The commissioning party is Norad's Evaluation Department.

Several weaknesses in the Norwegian assistance to Sri Lanka have been identified. Norwegian support has only to a small extent followed up the overall policy guidelines on neutrality in conflicts or the Norwegian business-related strategy for unfettered assistance from 1998. One of the explanations is that Norwegian assistance to a great extent has been focused on peacekeeping contributions. Low cost efficiency is identified in several important business-related support measures. It is also a weakness that Norad's support schemes have not been adequately quality-assured in terms of environment, health and safety.

Assistance stopped

Around 120 employees have been laid off after all assistance to the peace foundation Foundation for Co-Existence (FCE) in Sri Lanka was stopped in 2010, the development magazine, Bistandsaktuelt reported. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs ordered the stop and called for a special audit of the Foundation's financial statements. In the forum pages of Bistandsaktuelt, well-known Sri Lankan peace researcher and activist and long-time chairman of the Foundation, Kumar Rupesinghe, posed critical questions about the Ministry's practice which he believes is poorly adapted to the realities on the ground in conflict-ridden partner countries. He noted that death threats, physical attacks from extremists and blame in local press is a part of daily life for peace workers working for reconciliation between ethnic groups in Sri Lanka. The Tsunami five years ago has also put obstacles in the way of ordinary organisational work in the country. In the opinion of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs however, the Foundation's management has received numerous warnings and signals that the financial management has been unsatisfactory. For one thing the Foundation has had problems documenting results in its annual reports. In addition, in the Ministry's view the audited financial statements have been both inadequate and delivered very late.

There have been several challenging cases relating to the inappropriate use of funds.

Support for minorities

Homosexuality is a criminal offence according to Article 365 and can carry prison sentences of over ten years. There are several rights-based organisations in Sri Lanka and the rights movement has become highly visible in recent years, including through gay pride celebrations. They are met with opposition mainly from conservative Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Since 2009 in Sri Lanka the Norwegian National Association for Lesbian and Gay Liberation has assisted a support group for women in Colombo. Funds have gone towards information on sexual rights, including rights based on sexual orientation, among rural women. There are also workshops on strategic cooperation between organisations working for the rights of minorities.

Successful microfinance initiative

Norway has financed micro-credit schemes and vocational education enabling thousands of poor women to start their own income-generating activities.

Electricity to rural areas

There is a great need for support for electrification, and through Norwegian-supported projects 27 000 families will get access to electricity in rural areas. The goal has been to ensure that people in conflict-affected areas have access to electricity. The villages of Mannar and Vavunia are among those which now have power.