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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 6124106" data-attributes="member: 92282">The European Commission (EC) has adopted a proposal to temporarily suspend the GSP plus trade concession scheme to Sri Lanka.  EU Member States will now have two months in which to decide on it, the EU website, in a press release, said adding that Sri Lanka is in breach of its GSP plus commitments. Following the adoption of the Commission proposal on Sri Lanka and GSP+ treatment, Christiane Hohmann, European Commission Spokesperson for Trade said : "The Commission completed a thorough investigation into the human rights situation in Sri Lanka and in particular whether Sri Lanka is living up to the commitments it made to respect international human rights standards when it became a beneficiary of the European Union’s GSP+ trade incentive scheme which provides for additional trade benefits.  The report came to the conclusion that there are significant shortcomings in this area and that Sri Lanka is in breach of its GSP+ commitments. After consulting with Member States, the Commission has adopted today a proposal with a view to temporarily suspending these additional trade benefits. EU Member States will have two months in which to decide on it.  At the same time, the Commission is determined to pursue its dialogue with Sri Lanka on the substantive human rights problems identified in the report and the steps that Sri Lanka can take to address them. We want to work constructively with Sri Lanka on this and expect that any actions taken to improve the human rights situation will be suitably vigorous, rapid and verifiable."  The investigation identifies significant shortcomings in respect of 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) - such as to indicate that Sri Lanka at present is not effectively implementing them. The investigation has relied heavily on reports and statements by UN Special Rapporteurs and Representatives, other UN bodies and reputable human rights NGOs. The Commission launched an investigation on 14 October 2008 to assess whether the national legislation of Sri Lanka incorporating three UN human rights conventions was effectively implemented. These three conventions are among the 27 international conventions that form part of the substantive qualifying criteria for GSP+.      The proposal: <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/december/tradoc_145602.pdf" target="_blank">http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/december/tradoc_145602.pdf</a><a href="http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=70937" target="_blank">DM</a></blockquote>

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