On 19 May 2009, Mahinda Rajapakse, then President of Sri Lanka, declared the end of the insurgency and the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE),[1] and the SCOPP was shut down on 31 July 2009.
[2] SCOPP employees were drawn from both the private and public sectors in Sri Lanka and included specialists in communications, diplomacy, economics, and law.
SCOPP officials engaged in extensive talks with all the parties involved, which included representatives of the public and private sectors of the economy, civil society, charitable organizations, and line agencies.
The tasks of the Economics Department were to promote private sector trade and investment in the northern and eastern parts of Sri Lanka; provide logistical and technical support to the North East Donor Coordination Cluster of the National Council for Economic Development (NCED); identify and resolve policy and implementation issues affecting donor-funded projects in the north and east; coordinate with government agencies, donors, and NGOs on peace-related development and reconciliation issues, especially in the north and east; and research the economic dimensions of governance and peace-related issues.
The tasks of the Legal Department were: to handle legal aspects relating to the political, economic, and social dimensions of the peace process; address issues of domestic and international law, including human rights and constitutional law; prepare and review position papers, aides-memoires, and other documents; correspond and meet with concerned parties, including civil society organizations, to obtain input on aspects of the peace process; and coordinate with government entities, foreign embassies, and NGOs on legal matters related to the peace process.