Sri Lanka faces a serious risk of losing the European Union’s GSP+ trade concessions if the government proceeds with two proposed laws on preventing organised crime and protecting the state from terrorism, former foreign affairs minister Professor G.L. Peiris has warned.
Speaking at a media briefing in Colombo, Peiris said the proposed Organised Crime Prevention Bill and the State Protection from Terrorism Bill were closely connected and could damage Sri Lanka’s international reputation, foreign trade relations and prospects for attracting foreign direct investment if enacted in their current form.
He said international organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, had already expressed serious concerns about the proposed legislation. According to Peiris, these organisations had urged the government not to pass the bills without fundamental and democratic amendments.
“The possibility of widespread human rights violations within the country is not the only problem with these bills. Their provisions also directly contradict the obligations and conventions to which Sri Lanka has committed itself internationally,” Peiris said.
He argued that the implications of the proposed laws extended beyond domestic civil liberties, potentially placing Sri Lanka in conflict with its international commitments. The concerns raised by international human rights organisations and the UN Human Rights Council, he said, should therefore not be dismissed.
Peiris described the EU’s GSP+ tariff concessions as critical to Sri Lanka’s export industries and services sector. The continuation of the preferential trade arrangement depends on the country’s adherence to international human rights standards, making the concerns expressed by the UN Human Rights Council particularly significant, he said.
He warned that any withdrawal of the concessions would deliver a major financial blow to the Sri Lankan economy, particularly domestic exporters. The trade benefit is important to export industries, and its loss could have serious consequences for businesses relying on preferential access to the European market.
The former minister called on the government to reconsider both proposed bills in light of their possible consequences for democratic freedoms, international relations and the national economy. He argued that the legislation should not be treated as two separate matters that could be assessed independently, given their combined implications for fundamental rights and freedoms.
Peiris also urged the government to take account of the rights and liberties currently enjoyed by the public before proceeding with the legislation. He maintained that the proposed provisions could undermine those freedoms while exposing the country to international criticism and potential economic consequences.
The government is expected to present the two bills to Parliament. Peiris’s warning centres on the possibility that their enactment without substantial amendments could affect Sri Lanka’s compliance with international human rights commitments and place the continuation of its EU GSP+ trade concessions at risk.
