PILPG Update
April 1, 2006 
PILPG to Open Sri Lanka Field Office
 
As of May 1st 2006, the Public International Law & Policy Group will be opening a Field Office in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  The Office will be directed by Elisabeth Dallas and will be operating on the basis of a grant provided by the United States Agency for International Development.  Howard Debenham, former Australian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, will serve as PILPG’s Diplomatic Liaison.  Paul Williams will also be participating in the program.

During the course of the year PILPG will be running a series of negotiation simulations for Sri Lankan policy makers and policy shapers.  PILPG will also prepare and disseminate Comparative Peace Memoranda, which will identify concrete means by which parties in other conflicts have overcome similar points of impasse to those which now face the parties in Sri Lanka. In addition, PILPG will conduct training seminars relating to the use of PILPG’s Peace Agreement Drafter’s Handbook.

About the Public International Law & Policy Group Nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, the Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) is a global, pro bono law firm providing free legal assistance to governments and states involved in conflicts. To facilitate use of this legal assistance, PILPG also provides policy formation advice and training on matters related to conflict resolution.
 

The four primary practice areas of PILPG are Peacebuilding, International Justice, Post-Conflict Political Development, and Public International Law. To provide pro bono legal advice and policy formulation expertise, PILPG relies almost exclusively on volunteer legal assistance from more than sixty former international lawyers, diplomats, and foreign relations experts, as well as pro bono assistance from major international law firms. Annually, PILPG is able to provide over $2 million worth of pro bono international legal services.  

Because of its diverse network of volunteers, PILPG is able to maintain volunteer points of contact in London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Boston, Rome, The Hague, Stockholm, Brussels, Kabul, Nairobi, and Seattle. In July 1999, the United Nations granted official Non-Governmental Organization status to PILPG.  

The Managing Board of PILPG includes  

Paul Williams - Executive Director,
Michael Scharf - Managing Director,
James Hooper - Managing Director,

To learn more about the Public International Law & Policy Group, please visit our website at http://www.pilpg.org