Shantha Kulasekara

• Senior Programma Manager/ Head of Migration Governance
• International Organization for Migration, Sri Lanka

Shantha Kulasekara is a senior migration management and development professional with over 25 years of national and international experience working with governments, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and other international organizations. He has a proven track record in project and stakeholder management within complex, fast-paced, and issue-rich environments. Shantha is currently the Head of Office at IOM Maldives. Prior to this, he served as the Head of the Migration Governance Unit at IOM Sri Lanka.

Shantha brings a wealth of over two decades of practical experience in policy advocacy and program management in migration governance. His expertise spans immigration-border management, border security, travel documents, visa systems, readmission, return and reintegration, and combating human smuggling and trafficking. He specializes in process automation, re-engineering, and broader applications of ICT in border and identity management, designing innovative passenger risk assessment and smart border solutions.

Before joining IOM, Shantha worked as a diplomat for the Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a senior Communication/Dissemination Officer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Delegation in Colombo, Sri Lanka. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Industrial Economics.