Advisor Appointed for the Sub-committee on Gender Issues in the Sri Lanka Peace Process

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Country/entity: Sri Lanka
Region: Asia and Pacific
Agreement name: Advisor Appointed for the Sub-committee on Gender Issues in the Sri Lanka Peace Process
Date: 5 Feb 2003
Agreement status: Unilateral document
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
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.
Stage: Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Sri Lanka LTTE 2002 onward process
Parties: Norwegian Government unilateral announcement, but in response to request by Government of Sri Lanka; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE.
Third parties: -
Description: Short press release detailing the consensual appointment of Dr. Astrid Heiberg as an advisor to the Sub-committee of Gender Issues.

Agreement document: LK_030205_Advisor Appointed for the Sub-committee on Gender Issues in the Sri Lanka Peace Process.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Main category: Page 1, At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Norway has appointed Dr. Astrid N. Heiberg as an advisor to the Sub-Committee on Gender Issues. ... The parties to the peace process established the Sub-Committee to ensure the effective inclusion of gender issues in the peace process.

[Summary] Paragraph two provides a biography of Dr Astrid N. Heiberg.

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: New institutions→Institutions for women
Page 1, Para 1
At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Norway has appointed Dr. Astrid N. Heiberg as an advisor to the Sub-Committee on Gender Issues.
...
The parties to the peace process established the Sub-Committee to ensure the effective inclusion of gender issues in the peace process.
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.

Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

ADVISOR APPOINTED FOR THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON GENDER ISSUES iN THE SRI LANKA PEACE PROCESS

PRESS RELEASE

05 February 2003

At the request of the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Norway has appointed Dr. Astrid N. Heiberg as an advisor to the Sub-Committee on Gender lssues.

Dr. Heiberg will be present at the first meeting of the Sub-Committee to be held in March.

The parties to the peace process established the Sub-Committee to ensure the effective inclusion of gender issues in the peace process.

At the fourth session of peace negotiations in Thailand in January, the parties asked Norway to function as the facilitator for the Sub-Committee, as well as to contribute financial support and appoint a senior expert to advise the Sub-Committee.

Dr. Astrid N. Heiberg has broad experience with gender issues, human rights and humanitarian advocacy from Norway and internationally.

For several years she has been involved in University co-operation between Norway and Sri Lanka, with the involvement of leading academics from Colombo, Jaffna and Batticaloa.

She was President of the lnternational Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent 1997 - 2001, and President of the Norwegian Red Cross 1993 - 1999.

Dr. Heiberg was a member of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and lnhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment 1989 - 1993.

She also has had a distinguished career in Norwegian politics as Deputy Minister for Health and Social Affairs 1981 - 1985, Chair of the National Conservative Women's Association 1985 - 1989, Member of Parliament 1985 - 1989, Minister of Consumer Affairs and Government Administration in 1986, and First Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party 1990 -1991.

Dr. Heiberg is Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oslo and is active on the boards of a number of Norwegian organizations.

Dr. Heiberg holds M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in psychiatry from the University of Oslo.