"Leinen and Muscardini condemn withdrawal of GSP from Sri Lanka

(July 04, Brussels, Sri Lanka Guardian) Two months before the expiry (on 15 August) of the period allowed Sri Lanka to resolve its failure to comply with three UN human rights conventions - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention Against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - MEPs Jo Leinen (S&D, Germany) and Cristiana Muscardini (EPP, Italy) have spoken against Sri Lanka's temporary suspension from the “GSP+”, the special regime to encourage good governance and sustainable development established for the most vulnerable of developing countries as part of the EU's Generalised System of Preferences. “The latest developments in Sri Lanka are promising. As you know, the main concern on this matter last year was internally Displaced people, and we have, to a large extent, resolved this issue. Child soldiers, which was a matter of concern until very recently, is now a non-issue,” Leinen says in a letter to European Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. He calls on the EU to retain the GSP+ for Sri Lanka, a status which, he says, will have a significant role for the country if the Millennium Development Goals are to be realised. Muscardini says that significant democratic steps have been taken in Sri Lanka over the last few months, such as the involvement of Tamils in the democratic process, the resolution of the issue of child soldiers, guaranteed free movement in most of the country and the lifting of some restrictions on the freedom of the media. She, too, wants the assessment period extended (see EUROPE 10099) until the start of 2011 so that political developments in Sri Lanka can be better gauged. (E.H./transl.rt)"

Source: Bulletin Quotidian Europe No 10171 - 01 July 2010