Interview with Sherine Xavier: Towards a just peace in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s long civil war ended in 2009, but true reconciliation and justice in the country is still to be achieved. Without accountability and truth, there can be no lasting peace – but where does change begin? How to build a just and lasting peace in a society where the wounds of the past are still open?  

Sherine Xavier is the director of the Sri Lankan human rights organisation The Social Architects (TSA), a Tamil minority filmmaker and human rights advocate who has spent decades fighting for justice and minority rights. At World Village Festival, Xavier will be interviewed by Finnish journalist and filmmaker Susani Mahadura.  

Xavier highlights the importance of hope, cooperation and dialogue in peacebuilding. Through concrete examples, the interview explores how development cooperation and human rights can build a more just and sustainable peace.  

After the programme, you can meet the panellists in the Lämpiö next to the Speaker’s Stage.

Sherine Xavier

Sherine Xavier is a Sri Lankan, Tamil minority filmmaker and human rights activist. Xavier has held a number of senior positions in human rights organisations over a 35-year career and is currently the Director of The Social Architects (TSA), a Sri Lankan human rights organisation. Xavier advocates for humane, rights-based action that supports marginalised communities and gender equality, and fights against violence faced by women. Through her films and writing, Xavier emphasises the importance of access to information and social responsibility and accountability for past crimes as part of democracy in Sri Lanka and beyond.  

Peace without truth and accountability is more like the absence of war or the momentary silencing of weapons.

Susani Mahadura

Journalist and filmmaker Susani Mahadura is passionate about exploring the world and humanity through stories. She is particularly interested in human rights and creating a more equal society. The importance of listening and encountering is a key part of her daily work, and she firmly believes that the world can be changed by coming together and talking.