February 2017 TWO YEARS IN GOVERNMENT: A REVIEW OF THE PLEDGES MADE IN 2015 THROUGH THE LENS OF CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM, GOVERNANCE AND TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE BHAVANI FONSEKA, LUWIE GANESHATHASAN & SHALOMI DANIEL CENTRE FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) is an independent, non-partisan organisation that focuses primarily on issues of governance and conflict resolution. Formed in 1996 in the firm belief that the vital contribution of civil society to the public policy debate is in need of strengthening, CPA is committed to programmes of research and advocacy through which public policy is critiqued, alternatives identified and disseminated. 6/5, Layards Road, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka Tel: +9411 2081384, +94112081385, +94112081386 Fax: +9411 2081388 Email:
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[email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpasl Twitter: @cpasl 1 The report is written by Bhavani Fonseka, Luwie Ganeshathasan and Shalomi Daniel with support from Krijah Sivakumar and Gerrit Kurtz. Dr. P. Saravanamuttu and Dr. Asanga Welikala provided inputs during the research and substantive comments on the various drafts of this report. The formatting of the report is done by Amalini De Sayrah. CPA would like to thank all those who provided their valuable time to participate in the numerous discussions that assisted in enriching this report. This report is based on three months of research and interviews with a range of actors. The research and interviews were conducted to gauge the progress made in Sri Lanka since the change in Government in January 2015, in the areas of constitutional reform, governance and Transitional Justice under the overarching theme of Human Rights.