Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

three international conventions listed in the GSP Regulation: the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the Convention against Torture; and the
Convention on the Rights of the Child. In October 2009, the European Commission
concluded that Sri Lanka had failed to implement effectively the obligations arising
from the three conventions under investigation during the period covered by the
investigation.
On 15 February, the EU decided to withdraw GSP+ preferences from Sri Lanka, with
the decision due to enter into force in August. Between February and August, the
EU encouraged Sri Lanka to address the concerns highlighted in the Commission’s
report. As insufficient improvements were made, GSP+ arrangements were
withdrawn on 15 August.
In order for the GSP+ scheme to function effectively as an incentive tool, it is
important that there is a clear and common understanding on what effective
implementation of the international conventions means. The EU is currently
conducting a review of the GSP Regulation. As part of the review, we will work
closely with the Commission, the European Parliament and other member states to
clarify further the standards that the EU expects from its partners, as well as the
institutional arrangements for entering, leaving and monitoring the scheme.
Sanctions
The Government supports the use of targeted sanctions to coerce regimes,
individuals and groups into changing their unacceptable behaviour.
Sanctions regimes can be imposed by the UN and the EU. The UN imposes
sanctions where circumstances are deemed to constitute a threat to international
peace and security. The EU, acting autonomously from the UN, can also impose
sanctions for these reasons but more often they are imposed to encourage respect
for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The measures most frequently
take the form of asset freezes, targeted trade embargoes and travel restrictions.
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