Sri Lanka is still searching for a final, negotiated settlement to the conflicts dividing its majority Singhalese and minority Tamil communities.

After nearly two decades (1983–2002) of bitter fighting between the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tamil Tigers of Elam (LTTE), and four more years of an uneasy state of ‘no war no peace’ since the Norwegian-brokered February 2002 Ceasefire Agreement (CFE), the need for reconciliation is stronger than ever.

Starting with a wide-ranging overview of current international thinking and practice in the area of reconciliation, this paper argues for the critical importance of integrating a reconciliation dimension into the formal Sri Lankan peace process, and outlines a number of practical strategies for promoting tolerance, co-existence and a willingness to confront the painful legacy of the violent past.