Humanitarianism in Sri Lanka: Lessons Learned?

The Sri Lankan experience provides international humanitarian actors with a cautionary tale of the sensitivities surrounding operations in a conflict affected environment beset by opposing constructs of nationalism and a state determined to maintain control over the nature and direction of humanitarian response. Through decades of protracted conflict, a failed peace process, a massive natural disaster response, and the recent comprehensive military defeat of a proscribed terrorist organization by government forces, the past thirty years have been one long slow learning curve for humanitarian involvement in Sri Lanka. The relationship between the state and the international humanitarian community of donors and aid agencies has often been fraught with tensions and misunderstandings. These dynamics have impacted upon the space in which humanitarians have been able to operate and their access to conflict and disaster-affected communities.

This briefing paper summarizes the key issues and dynamics that have shaped the humanitarian experience in Sri Lanka and draws lessons that, if learned, may help inform humanitarian engagement in other international contexts. This paper has been prepared by an independent consultant for the Feinstein International Center (FIC). It is part of a series of country studies on humanitarianism and politics which also includes Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan/Darfur and Pakistan. These briefings notes are kept deliberately short in order to generate debate on the policy implications of recent crises. They will be revised and expanded later in 2010 for inclusion in a book on the evolving relationship between humanitarian action and politics.