Since its establishment in the 1950s, The Asia Foundation’s (TAF) Sri Lanka office has prioritized law and justice, focusing on strengthening democracy, upholding the rule of law, and reducing inequities to ensure broad access to justice. Over the decades, Sri Lanka’s recurring cycles of conflict, marginalization, and political instability have shaped both the population’s experiences of justice and TAF’s work. Over seventy years, TAF has supported formal legal institutions and informal justice mechanisms, improved legal literacy, and advanced protections for marginalized groups, addressing inequalities related to gender, ethnicity, religion, and income.
Early initiatives centered on legal education through the Books for Asia program, supporting legal scholars and institutions. These efforts fostered lasting partnerships with the Ministry of Justice, the Judges’ Institute, the Attorney General’s Department, and Sri Lanka’s courts. TAF expanded its focus to strengthening core rule-of-law institutions, reforming outdated laws, and pioneering access-to-justice programs. Its role in establishing and expanding the Legal Aid Commission enabled improved access to legal services nationwide, particularly for marginalized communities. TAF also helped create community mediation boards, providing affordable, accessible dispute resolution for approximately 200,000 cases annually, influencing similar initiatives in other countries.
TAF supported strategic public interest litigation to protect environmental, land, and minority rights while fostering partnerships with the Sri Lanka Police. Initial efforts focused on language access and legal empowerment, evolving into a nationwide community policing model that trained thousands of officers in Tamil and improved relationships with minority communities. Although political shifts later curtailed direct engagement, these initiatives left a lasting impact on policing practices and community relations. From the mid-2010s, gender justice emerged as a core focus, documenting survivors’ experiences, strengthening civil society, and promoting institutional accountability. TAF’s work has positioned it as a leading NGO addressing sexual and gender-based violence in Sri Lanka.
TAF’s approach strategically navigated formal and informal systems, leveraging strong relationships with state institutions to enable community-level programs while using grassroots work to influence national reforms. Its locally rooted staff, long-term presence, and evidence-based research allowed TAF to sustain programs through volatile political contexts, institutionalizing reforms such as state-funded legal aid, police language training, and community mediation. Despite these achievements, TAF has faced ongoing challenges, including navigating polarized politics, adapting to prescriptive donor agendas, and balancing short-term demands with long-term change processes.
Throughout its history, TAF has supported the emergence of the legal sector in Sri Lanka, distributing legal resources, supporting legal scholars, and fostering partnerships with universities and courts. Early contributions strengthened the capacity of the judiciary and legal professionals, laying the foundation for long-term reforms in rights protection and rule of law. Sri Lanka’s political unrest, including ethnic conflict, insurrections, and civil war, underscored the need for robust justice mechanisms, which TAF helped develop and sustain even amid social and economic crises.
TAF’s focus on access to justice has combined formal legal institutions and informal systems. Support for the Legal Aid Commission, civil society legal aid organizations, and community mediation boards has expanded access for marginalized populations. Mediation boards now cover the entire country, resolving disputes quickly and efficiently, and have informed similar programs internationally. TAF’s efforts in gender justice have strengthened institutional responses to sexual and gender-based violence, combining top-down accountability with bottom-up empowerment of civil society and fostering greater awareness of survivors’ rights.
Public interest litigation and strategic engagement with the police have complemented TAF’s broader justice initiatives. Legal empowerment programs and community policing models enhanced police-community relations and accountability, including language training and capacity-building for women’s and children’s desks. Although political shifts limited direct engagement, these programs left enduring legacies, including improved trust and procedural responsiveness within communities.
TAF’s work in Sri Lanka has been characterized by its dual engagement with formal and informal justice systems, enabling reforms at both national and community levels. The organization’s long-term presence, locally informed strategies, and research-driven approaches allowed it to adapt to complex political environments, sustain community-focused programs, and influence institutional change. Challenges remain in balancing donor-driven priorities with long-term reform objectives, yet TAF continues to pursue initiatives that strengthen justice, social cohesion, and equity while adapting to evolving political and social contexts.
