Sri Lankan Women for Peace and Democracy (SLWPD) is a broad coalition of women’s organizations, and women from human rights and peace organizations. Many of them have been advocating for a negotiated political solution to the ethnic conflict for the past ten to fifteen years. SLWPD was formed in November 2005, following a National Women’s Convention attended by women’s groups and individuals, that was facilitated by WMC. The women decided to form a broad coalition to express concern at the spate of killings, violence and human disappearances, particularly human rights infringements in the North and the East of Sri Lanka, and to call for the resumption of negotiations between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealm (LTTE). Women’s organizations, women workers, farmers, activists and peace advocates from different ethnic and religious groups are represented in this coalition.
SLWPD launched its first peace campaign in December 2005, with the theme “Life Not Death, Peace Not War”, calling on the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to resume negotiations and put an end to the escalating violence and the disruption of the ceasefire agreement. Since then the peace campaign has continued, with women from various districts gathering together and calling in one voice for one demand- an end to violence, an end to killings, an end to war and a return to peace.
