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Deny Sri Lanka GSP+ Status

October 29, 2009

Six months after the violent escalation and conclusion of Sri Lanka's civil war, nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians remain detained in government-run internment camps. The Sri Lankan government committed to return all 273,000 internally displaced persons to their homes by the end of the year. However, they have yet again reneged on their promise and now plan to return only 37% of the civilians home before 2010. The U.S. State Department’s recent report detailing the Sri Lankan government’s extensive human rights abuses illustrates the gravity of this situation and the need to hold the government accountable for the loss of thousands of innocent lives.

For the last few years, the U.S. Government has withheld financial support from Sri Lanka because of its inability to comply with international human rights standards. The Sri Lankan government is guilty of violating the laws of war and committing numerous war crimes against innocent civilians. However, they continue to blatantly ignore pleas from foreign agencies and democratic political entities. As Sri Lanka’s largest export market, the European Union is in a unique position to compel the government to act with humanity and dignity. Until Sri Lanka abides by international laws, the EU should refuse to award Sri Lanka GSP+ status.

In order to quality for GSP+ status, Sri Lanka has to implement international conventions on human rights, labor rights, and environmental standards. Although Sri Lanka ratified these conventions, its government is clearly failing to live up to international expectations in the area of human rights. The European Commission's investigation indicated that three UN human rights conventions—International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,the Convention against Torture, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child—are not being effectively implemented by Sri Lanka. By denying Sri Lanka GSP+ status, you can hold Sri Lanka accountable for its blatant disregard for the lives of Tamil civilians. The loss of trade concessions for the next three years will impact the economy in such a way that the government will be forced to comply with international conventions on human rights. Unless we put severe political and economic sanctions on Sri Lanka, the government will continue to break its promises and mistreat innocent civilians.