The European Union's civil society is unhappy with Islamabad for what it says no let-up in human rights violations, continued use of death penalty, military courts and enforced disappearances These views were expressed at a recent meeting of the EU's civil society on the Generalized System of Preferences plus (GSP+) wherein issues related to GSP Plus beneficiary countries came under detailed discussion.
Lead speakers were Sandra Gallina, Director, Sustainable Development; Economic Partnership Agreements - African, Caribbean and Pacific; Agri-food and Fisheries, European Commission, DG Trade , Marc Giacomini, Deputy Managing Director, Global - Human Rights, Global and Multilateral Issues, EEAS and Ms Alina Boiciuc, Deputy Head of Unit, Trade and Sustainable Development, Generalized System of Preferences, European Commission, DG Trade.
"Serious situation remains on rights of women, death penalty, use of military courts, torture, EJKs and enforced disappearances, rights of minorities, protection of journalists and human rights defenders," said the speakers. "It is clear that much more needs to be done to combat violence against women, use of torture, misuse of the death penalty, to ensure the rights of minorities and that freedom of expression is respected," the EU civil society noted.
The participants noted that much more effort was needed to address considerable gender inequalities, bonded labour, child labour, freedom of association and collective bargaining. The ensuing discussion was organised around two main questions: (i) what are civil society's priorities under the GSP+ relevant human rights, labour rights, environment, climate and good governance conventions in the GSP+ beneficiary countries? And (ii) what positive and/or negative developments did civil society observe in GSP+ beneficiary countries since 2016?
It was noted that due to EU GSP plus efforts, Pakistan set-up a National Commission for Human Rights, which, while still fragile, can play an important role in promoting human rights. Legislation to protect the rights of children and women has been put in place.
Civil society organisations noted shrinking space for civil society and the government's reluctance to address human rights violations in Pakistan. Some civil society organisations emphasized increased awareness of labour issues at company level in Pakistan and stressed the importance of continuous dialogue with Pakistan.
The biennial GSP+ report to the European Parliament and the Council is a status report on the effective implementation by GSP+ countries of the relevant GSP+ conventions and on compliance with reporting obligations. The first GSP+ report, covering the period 2014-2015, was issued in January 2016. The second one, covering the period 2016-2017 will be published by the beginning of next year.
The objective of the civil society dialogue was to gather the views of civil society organisations for the GSP+ beneficiary country assessments and drafting process of the upcoming GSP+ report. The civil society dialogue started-off with well-received remarks by Sandra Gallina (Director, DG Trade) and Marc Giacomini (Director Human rights - Global and Multilateral issues, EEAS). Both characterised GSP+ as a flagship EU trade instrument to promote international values such as human and labour rights as well as environmental protection and good governance in vulnerable developing countries.
Pakistan has to implement 27 UN Conventions for continuation of GSP plus scheme in co-ordination with the provincial governments. For this purpose Treaty Implementation Cell (TIC) has been established under the chairmanship of Attorney General of Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali.
On drugs, civil society argued that continued efforts are needed to counter drug trafficking and abuse, however they continue to suffer weaknesses in capacity and coordination. However, commenting on corruption, it was stated that efforts to implement commitments in the convention have improved by strengthening the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), however, challenges are still considerable. On June 15, 2017 the EU parliament passed a non-binding resolution which took a serious view of human rights situation in Pakistan.