About

Sanjeewa Liyanage is an internationally recognized practitioner and trainer in human rights, the rule of law, criminal justice, and access to justice, with over 30 years of experience leading initiatives across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. Originally from Sri Lanka, he currently serves as the International Program Director of the Geneva-based International Bridges to Justice (IBJ), where he oversees access to justice and rule of law programs in 53 countries worldwide.

Throughout his career, Sanjeewa has designed, implemented, and supervised programs that strengthen legal defense systems, build the capacity of human rights defenders and justice sector actors, and promote systemic reform in criminal justice institutions. He has conducted specialized training for lawyers, judges, police, and prison officials in more than 20 countries, including Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, and Zimbabwe. Sanjeewa has held senior leadership roles at several influential organizations, including the International Young Christian Students in Paris, the Asian Legal Resource Centre, and the Asian Human Rights Commission in Hong Kong. He has been an active voice in international human rights advocacy, leading delegations and presenting at key United Nations mechanisms such as the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. He also served as the East Asia focal point for the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), playing a pivotal role in regional advocacy for international justice.

Sanjeewa holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Human Rights from the University of Hong Kong and has completed executive education at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He has received specialized human rights training from the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) in The Hague and the Danish Institute for Human Rights in Copenhagen.

In recognition of his long-standing commitment to democratic governance and justice, he was appointed a Global Democracy Goodwill Ambassador by the Korea Democracy Foundation for the term 2025–2026.