Mr. Olav Kjørven, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
Tokyo, 9.-10. June 2003

(check against delivery)

Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka

Honorable Prime Minister, Honorable Foreign Minister of Japan, Yoriko Kawaguchi, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

As a donor with a 25-year long history of development cooperation with, and humanitarian assistance to, Sri Lanka, Norway is most pleased and honored to participate in the Tokyo conference and to act as a co-chair. I would like to emphasize that Norway is not here in our capacity as facilitator for the peace process, since one party to the process - the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam - is not present.

Norway remains committed to assist the parties as an impartial, third party facilitator, for as long as they find such assistance useful and in the manner the parties request.

It was H. E. Chandrika Bandanaraike Kumaratunga, President of Sri Lanka, and LTTE leader Velupillai Prabakharan, who invited Norway to act as a facilitator in 2000 and who initiated the current peace process.

Norway, as a facilitator, and the international donor community, can only assist the parties in their efforts to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict, acceptable to all communities in Sri Lanka. A lasting peace will have to be achieved by the parties and by the Sri Lankan people.

With the Ceasefire Agreement, which has silenced the weapons for the longest period in two decades of conflict, and with the six initial sessions of direct peace negotiations, the LTTE and the Sri Lankan Government took several important steps towards peace. The parties have achieved impressive progress and have been able to agree on difficult issues.

At the same time, the parties have acknowledged time and again that the peace process will take time and require persistence. A conflict that raged for 20 years, took over 65 000 lives and displaced many times that number of people, will not be resolved over night.

Over the last year and a half, the parties have worked hard to improve security and build peace for Sri Lankas war torn communities. Thanks to this effort, people throughout the country and especially in the North and East are experiencing a new reality of more tranquillity, better safety, higher hopes. In parallel the parties have made progress on political questions at the negotiating table.

In partnership the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE have moved forward towards a negotiated settlement. This is one of the key reasons for the strong international interest in supporting the peace process.

Another reason is the fact that the parties have taken significant initiatives to cooperate with one another and work closely with donors on assistance to the devastated areas of the north and east.

Both parties have emphasized all along that continued progress on political questions requires the support of the people for making difficult compromises. The parties have appealed to the international community to provide immediate and longer term assistance to help demonstrate to the population of the entire island that they can trust the peace process to improve their lives.

Tangible and fast rehabilitation and reconstruction of the areas damaged by conflict, and economic improvement for all those facing poverty and hardship, are important for maintaining public confidence in the process.

Norway sympathizes with the frustration of people all over Sri Lanka – and particularly those suffering the brunt of displacement. Many people, especially in the north and east have yet to experience significant improvements in social services, economic opportunity and not least the ability to resettle in their original homes with dignity.

Norway is committed to providing assistance to all regions of Sri Lanka to promote reconstruction and development, both in the south and in the north and east. Norway recognizes the special needs faced by the conflict-affected areas in the north and east. Our support of close to 3 million USD to the North East Reconstruction Fund demonstrates our commitment to assist the parties in this regard.

The resumption of negotiations between the parties on a political solution, along the principles agreed in Oslo in December, will be critical to reach the goal of a negotiated peace.

The Needs Assessment for the North and East was a collaborative effort by the Government of Sri Lanka/ LTTE/ and donors. We must maintain this co-ordination as we move into the implementation phase. To complement the infrastructure support provided by international financial institutions and Japan, I particularly want to acknowledge the significant contribution by the host government. Norway regards it as important to implement capacity building activities on cross cutting issues. This includes in particular reconciliation, national integration and conflict resolution.

Economic development in Sri Lanka is necessary to underpin the peace process and to ensure that the population experiences tangible results.The document "Regaining Sri Lanka" sets out the government’s strategy for economic growth, development and poverty reduction. Sri Lanka will now hopefully have the opportunity to redirect financial resources from conflict related tasks to measures that address the needs of the poor.

Norway strongly urges the international community to support Sri Lanka in rebuilding the economy and for reconstruction in the North and East. We welcome a close dialogue on how the various components in the strategy can be supported. As agreed during our last annual consultations in Colombo in February a closer cooperation on private sector development seems to be of most interest. Institutional development hold great promise and cooperation within the marine sector, fisheries and energy are areas where Norway would like to cooperate with Sri Lanka.

Strengthening of the implementation capacity in Sri Lanka is now a top priority as we heard earlier today from the Hon. Prime Minister. Progress on the ground is slow, in part due to a complex bureaucracy in need of reform. Sri Lanka is expecting to get a significant increase in commitment for development assistance at this conference. The processes for handling these funds and disbursing them must become more efficient. We look forward to working with the new mechanisms now being set up by the government.

Norway welcomes the commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka in transforming the public service to achieve high standards of good governance. Improved accountability, transparency, predictability and popular participation in public affairs are necessary measures in order to improve governance. Political patronage, corruption and inappropriate interference in the affairs of civil administration could be major obstacles to more effective governance.

Norway emphasises the importance of good governance and effectve anti corruption measures in our development cooperation. We believe that corruption is a serious impediment for both social and economic development, and that efforts to fight corruption should be included in all development strategies.

Norway emphasises the importance for the negotiating parties to ensure that all Sri Lankans enjoy the protection of human rights and humanitarian law. We would support those efforts through our development cooperation. There has been progress on human rights protection issues in the initial rounds of the peace talks.

The appointment of Mr Ian Martin as the Human Rights Advisor to the negotiating parties is a positive step. We welcome the request that he has received from the parties to draft a declaration of Human Rights and Humanitarian Principles. However, we must see further progress to ensure that all Sri Lankans enjoy protection of the full range of rights recognised in international human rights and humanitarian law.

Norway has increased its support for Sri Lanka substantially over the last two years, reflecting our commitment to the peace process. For 2003 Norway has pledged a total of approximately USD 30 million in financial support to Sri Lanka. This includes long term assistance, post conflict transitional assistance, immediate humanitarian assistance and support to peace and reconciliation activities.

Norway has contributed to the North East Reconstruction Fund and other rehabilitation activities in the North and East, and at the same time continued to support the development of the South.

In 2004 we also envisage allocating approximately USD 30 mill, of which approximately 11 million to the North and East. We would expect to maintain this level of support in the immediate future, if the peace process progresses satisfactorily.

Finally, we would like to call on the other donors to respond to the couragous moves towards a peaceful settlement in Sri Lanka. These steps have been taken jointly, by the government and by the LTTE. Despite the current difficulties the ceasefire is holding and both parties are fully commited to a peaceful solution. Now is the time to demonstrate real political and financial support to the people of Sri Lanka and the hard work of making a lasting peace.