The European Commission has imposed upon Sri Lanka fifteen conditions in return for granting the GSP Plus trade concession — considerably whittled down from the list of 58 strictures it had originally slapped on.
The shorter list — which was first communicated to the Sri Lanka Government in June 2010 and to which the European Commission (EC) has now reverted — calls upon the Government to carry out such reforms as reducing the number of derogations to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Sources close to the European Union said the shift from the longer list of 58 conditions to the revised one was “due to concerns about Sri Lanka’s economic health and about the legality and fairness of imposing new, more stringent, criteria on the new Government than what was required of the Rajapaksa Government”.
The shorter list was sent to the Government in June 2010, six months after the GSP Plus was withdrawn, stating that the preferences could be extended for a limited additional period subject to a clear commitment by Sri Lanka to fulfill all 15 conditions spelt out.
But in an official response to the European Commission sent that same month, the Sri Lanka Government contended that “the position taken up by the Commission involves the imposition of a series of conditions, the cumulative effect of which is clearly inconsistent with Sri Lanka’s sovereignty”.
When President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe assumed power, however, they started fresh negotiations through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And, in a marked departure from earlier policy, the current regime has already implemented several of the demands made by the EC in exchange for the GSP Plus concession. The Government has gone far enough in the process to be able to lodge its application for the GSP Plus, which it recently did.
The EC list urges the Government to ensure that the key objective of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, namely to provide for independent and impartial appointments to key public positions, is fully safeguarded; and to repeal those sections of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) which are incompatible with the ICCPR or amending them so as to make them clearly compatible with ICCPR.
It wishes the Government to respond to a significant number of individual cases currently pending before the UN Working Group on Enforced Disappearances; and to ensure journalists can exercise their professional duties without harassment. It calls upon the Government to take the legislative steps necessary to allow individuals to submit complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee under the First Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and to the UN Committee against Torture (UNCAT) under Article 22.
The Optional Protocol establishes an individual complaints mechanism for the ICCPR; Article 22 allows State parties to recognise the competence of the Committee against Torture to hear complaints from individuals about violations of the Convention against Torture by a State party.
Additionally, the EU wants Government to repeal the remaining part of the 2005 Emergency Regulations — notably those concerning detention without trial, restrictions on freedom of movement, ouster of jurisdiction and immunity — and to repeal the 2006 Emergency Regulations. If the Government considers it essential to retain certain provisions which are compatible with the ICCPR or UNCAT, such as provisions concerning possession of weapons, “such provisions should be transferred to the Criminal Code”.
Among the EC’s conditions which the incumbent Government has announced its intention to comply with is the adoption of amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure. These provide for the right of a suspect to see a lawyer immediately following his or her arrest. The Government has already provided for the visits of several UN Special Rapporteurs. This was another stipulation. It is also finalising the first draft of the new counter-terrorism legislation to replace the PTA. Several other measures remain to be adopted.
However, the shorter list is considerably more lenient than the earlier one which the EU had conveyed to the Government. This had imposed more detailed and specific requirements complete with timelines for implementation.
They included revoking the PTA; expediting cases of remaining detainees; introducing a new Human Rights Action Plan (also in the shorter list); reviewing the status of Tamil diaspora organisations and individuals on the terrorist list; devolving power under a new Constitution; returning all private lands to owners in the North; adopting a policy of National Reconciliation and on National Resettlement; finalising the resettlement of all displaced persons; ratifying the Convention on Enforced Disappearances with accompanying legislation; and issuing certificates of absence.
They also comprised rehabilitation of all ex-combatants; amending the Code of Criminal Procedure to include the rights of detainees (also in shorter list); adopting new regulations for public disorder management by police; reviewing the Public Security Ordinance; and establishing an Office of Missing Persons. The Government is now implementing a mixture of both lists.
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