GSP+ talks: EU tells Lanka not to implement death penalty

The European Union ( EU) has once again called on Sri Lanka not to implement the death penalty, during talks in Brussels centering on the GSP+, a concession narrowly tied to a recipient’s implementation of labour and human rights conventions.

The message was conveyed during a segment on the GSP+ at the 22nd EU-Sri Lanka Joint Commission meeting on Thursday. “The EU also reiterated its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and encouraged Sri Lanka to maintain its moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty,” said a joint statement released after the discussion.

But the language was far less muted at the meeting, authoritative sources said. It was emphasised strongly to the Sri Lankan delegation that the EU was concerned about reports that the death penalty was to be carried out.

There is likely to be pressure from the European Parliament to review GSP+, if the death penalty is implemented or, if there is no progress shown on transitional justice and reconciliation commitments, a source in Brussels said.

The GSP+ is a unilateral concession f rom the EU. Therefore, the core cannot be negotiated, the source continued. This week, the EU started a process that could lead to the temporary suspension of Cambodia’s preferential access under the ‘ Everything but Arms” (EBA) trade scheme. A statement said that EBA incentives can be removed “if beneficiary countries fail to respect core human rights and labour rights”.

The Sri Lankan delegation maintained, however, that the EU did not link the GSP+ to the death penalty. It was point- ed out that Pakistan received the concession in 2013, but re-introduced the death penalty the following year, even carrying out executions. The facility has, however, not been withdrawn.

Reference was made too, to the US, Japan and several other countries having Free Trade Agreements with the EU despite, the death penalty being carried out regularly in those jurisdictions.

Thursday’s meeting was co-chaired by Paola Pampaloni, Deputy Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service, and Ravi nat ha Arya sin ha, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. It was held in “an open and constructive spirit”.

Sri Lanka only regained the GSP+ concession in May 2017, after a long and rigorous process of vetting, during which Colombo committed to implementing 27 conventions on human and labour rights, the environment and good governance. These are inherent conditions in scheme.

Also agreed upon had been the repeal of the Prevention of Terrorism Act and its replacement by a less draconian piece of Legislation. “In this context, while acknowledging that the new draft Legislation was now being considered by Parliament, the EU reiterated the need to repeal and replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act ( PTA), in order to bring counter-terrorism Legislation in line with international standards,” the joint statement said.

At the end of 2019, there will be the regular biannual GSP+ report presented to the European Parliament. The EU will conduct a monitoring mission to prepare for this sometime this year.