Tamil civil society organisations have called on the European Parliament to deny Sri Lanka restoration of GSP+ until at least a list of surrendees and detainees is released by the Sri Lankan government.
In a joint statement supporting the the demands of the families of the disappeared who have been protesting across the North-East, the civil society organisations also noted “with serious concern, that Sri Lanka has failed to substantively comply with the 27 international conventions which the European Parliament requires compliance with in order for a state to be eligible for GSP+ status.”
The signatory organisations (Adayaalam; Centre for Protection and Promotion of Human Rights; Jaffna University Teachers’ Association; Jaffna University Students Union; Maatram Foundation; Mannar Citizen’s Committee; and Tamil Civil Society Forum) said that the EU has an opportunity to encourage promotion and protection of human rights in Sri Lanka if the parliament were to decide against restoring GSP+.
“This would send a strong message to the Sri Lankan government that non- compliance with international human rights conventions and a failure to address past human rights violations will not be tolerated by the international community,” the organisations said.
