Peace Agreements Database

Country/entity

Sri Lanka

Region

Asia and Pacific

Agreement name

The third sesson of peace talks between the Government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) (Oslo Communique)

Date

05/12/2002

Agreement status

Multiparty signed/agreed

Interim arrangement

No

Agreement/conflict level

Intrastate/intrastate conflict (Sri Lankan Civil War (1983 - 2009)

The roots of the Sri Lanka conflict lay in British colonial policy which controlled the island from 1802 until 1948. During the early 1800s, the British brought Tamils from mainland India to work on the various plantations for tea, coffee and rubber, changing Sri Lanka's the demographic make-up. Upon independence, Sinhalese nationalism dominated the political sphere and introduced discriminatory policies against the Tamil minority straining relations and sparking protests. Armed Tamil resistance first came in the form of assassinations of moderate Tamils and opposition politicians in the mid-1970s. However, it was the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's (LTTE) attack on checkpoint Four Four Bravo, which marked the turning point, sparking pogroms against Tamils in Sinhalese majority areas. This incident, known as Black July, is widely considered to the beginning of the civil war.

The first round of peace talks were backed by India, which had deployed the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987, and led to the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka Accord. The Accord was successful in persuading the majority of insurgency groups to lay down arms. However, the strongest Tamil insurgency group, the LTTE, was not party to the talks and refused to disarm, sparking direct conflict between the IPKF and the LTTE until IPKF withdrawal 1990. Following the withdrawal, the LTTE consolidated their power in the North and East sparking another intense and bloody war with the central government that lasted until 2002 when another peace process was launched under the auspices of Norwegian negotiators. The second round of peace talks, however, only continued until April 2003 and in March 2004, a large faction of LTTE cadres split from the main organization damaging LTTE unity. The LTTE were defeated militarily by a large-scale government assault in 2009, however, the conditions for peace remain uncertain.

Sri Lankan Civil War (1983 - 2009) )

Stage

Pre-negotiation/process (Mixed)

Conflict nature

Government/territory

Peace process

114: Sri Lanka LTTE 2002 onward process

Parties

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); Government of Sri Lanka

Third parties

Royal Government of Norway

Description

Press statement highlights attempts at re-consolidating the ceasefire, giving access to humanitarian aid and that parties re-affirmed the need to help women and children.

Agreement document

LK_021205_Oslo Communique.pdf []

Main category

Page 2, The parties acknowledged the need to ensure that the priorities and needs of women are taken into account in all aspects of the peace process. To this effect, they agreed to establish a permanent advisory committee which will, on a regular basis, submit proposals relating to women's interests to the sessions of negotiations and to the sub-committees of the peace process. The committee will consist of four representatives of each party.

Women, girls and gender

Participation

No specific mention.

Equality

No specific mention.

Particular groups of women

No specific mention.

International law

No specific mention.

New institutions

Reconciliation and peace

Page 2, Para 8
The parties acknowledged the need to ensure that the priorities and needs of women are taken into account in all aspects of the peace process. To this effect, they agreed to establish a permanent advisory committee which will, on a regular basis, submit proposals relating to women's interests to the sessions of negotiations and to the sub-committees of the peace process. The committee will consist of four representatives of each party.

Violence against women

No specific mention.

Transitional justice

No specific mention.

Institutional reform

No specific mention.

Development

No specific mention.

Implementation

No specific mention.

Other

No specific mention.