Photo: The British High Commissioner in Colombo Dr. Peter Hayes and the Head of International Organisation for Migration, Mohammed Abdiker signed an agreement for approximately Rs.17 million as UK's support towards the rehabilitation and reintegration of Ex-combatants in Sri Lanka. The agreement was signed in the presence of the Justice Minister Milinda Moragoda.

Minister Moragoda welcomed the support provided by the British High Commission to the Government of Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Justice and in particular the Commissioner General for Rehabilitation had been working closely with the International Organization for Migration to develop a community oriented demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration programme. The programme focuses on strengthening capacity, support to receptor communities and an active involvement of the private sector to build sustainable solutions.


High Commissioner Hayes said, “The UK fully supports efforts to ensure sustainable rehabilitation of former combatants. This would be critical to reconciliation efforts following the end of the war and would underpin a transition to sustainable peace."


The funding is drawn from the Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP) of the UK government, which is jointly managed by the Department for International Development, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence.


The Conflict Prevention Pool (CPP) was set up in April 2008 as a successor to the former Global and Africa Conflict Prevention Pools. It is a source of funding to support the UK government's aims for preventing and managing international conflict. All work funded by the CPP is intended to help achieve the Public Service Agreement on Conflict. The overall outcome the UK aims to achieve is a global and regional reduction in conflict and its impact through improved UK and international efforts to prevent, manage and resolve conflict and to create the conditions required for effective state-building and economic development.