Transparency International board member receives Citizen’s Peace Award in Sri Lanka

J.C. Weliamuna, a member of the board of directors of the global anti-corruption organisation Transparency International, and chair of the board of directors of Transparency International Sri Lanka, was given the 2012 Citizen’s Peace Award by the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka.

This prestigious award recognises outstanding individuals who demonstrate exceptional courage and consistency, working in hostile conditions, to promote peace.

Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International, said: “We congratulate J.C. Weliamuna on receiving this award, which recognises and celebrates the qualities that make working with Weli such an inspiring and rewarding experience.”

In his acceptance speech at a ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka on 18 September, Weliamuna highlighted the role of corruption in the fight for human rights: “Transparency International, global and local, was among my strongest affiliations. What I clearly saw – with my experience in those networks – is that human rights, governance, accountability, rule of law, moral and ethical standards are all interconnected and interdependent in my view; even the ethnic conflict, resulting in major violations of human rights by all sides, demonstrates the stark reality of collapse in governance structure of our country.”

J.C. Weliamuna is one of Sri Lanka’s leading constitutional lawyers. He is also an Eisenhower and a Senior Ashoka Fellow and has served as an elected bureau member of the South Asians for Human Rights movement.

In 2002 he became Transparency International Sri Lanka’s first executive director, where he served until 2010. He joined Transparency International’s board in 2010.

The National Peace Council was established in 1995 as a non-partisan organisation dedicated to building peace.