Rights activists urged the European Union to investigate widespread human rights violations in Pakistan, including persecution of religious minorities, ahead of a review starting Monday (Nov. 24) by a key EU mission monitoring the country’s eligibility for preferential trade terms.
The EU mission will conduct a periodic assessment of Pakistan’s implementation of 27 U.N. conventions tied to GSP+, which lowers or eliminates duties on awarded countries’ exports to the EU in exchange for them pursuing “sustainable development and good governance.”
Governments with this status must implement 27 international conventions on human rights, labor rights, good governance and the environment. Pakistan has benefited from GSP+ status since 2014, contributing to a 108 percent rise in textile exports to the EU due to lower or zero duties.
The EU mission has meetings planned with government institutions, civil society, human rights groups, workers and the private sector. The review mission was originally planned for June but was postponed due to the Iran-Israel conflict.
“The Pakistan government has completely failed to fulfill its constitutional responsibilities to protect the fundamental rights of Pakistani people guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan and protected by international conventions and protocols,” said Minorities Alliance Pakistan (MAP) Chairman Akmal Bhatti.
An attorney of the high courts, Bhatti said that religious minorities, especially Christians, continue to suffer from religious discrimination and institutional hatred in Pakistan.
“The blasphemy law continues to be misused, and the main perpetrators of the false allegations are working in connivance with state institutions,” Bhatti told Christian Daily International. “Glaring evidence of this evil nexus was exposed during the proceedings held in the Islamabad High Court by Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq. The judge directed the government to form a judicial commission for a fair and transparent investigation, but the verdict was suspended by an appellate bench of the high court. It is the prime duty of the federal government to probe these cases and the international community must monitor its progress.”
The socio-political leader also criticized the government for inaction against those involved in the August 2023 attack on multiple churches and homes of Christians in Jaranwala town, Faisalabad Division of Punjab Province.
“Though the government has now imposed a ban on the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan [TLP] and launched a crackdown against its cadres, it failed to arrest the TLP leaders who led the violent attacks against Christians in Jaranwala, including the group’s local chief who was nominated in at least two cases related to the incident,” he added.
Similarly, the Punjab Province government has failed to pass a law that criminalizes child marriages despite its submission in the assembly in April 2024, he said.
“We have been demanding a law criminalizing forced faith conversions as well as raising the legal age of marriage for both boys and girls to 18 years as a deterrent against false conversions, but the Punjab government is sitting on the issue for reasons not known to the public,” he said. “The EU mission must question the government leaders about the draft bill’s status when it meets them.”
Among other issues, the EU mission should also consider religious minorities’ demand of granting them their constitutional right to elect their own representatives, he said.
“We have also been demanding the removal of the constitutional bar on non-Muslims from being elected as president and prime minister of the country,” he said. “If all citizens are equal in the eyes of the constitution and the law, then this restriction on non-Muslims must end.”
Pakistan Masiha Millat Party Chairman Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra echoed Bhatti’s concerns over the situation of minorities in Pakistan.
“There has been no improvement in Pakistan’s human rights situation, in fact it has only worsened over the years,” Sahotra told Christian Daily International.
He denied government claims that conditions for minorities have improved.
“Continuing to extend trade benefits despite ongoing rights violations sends a dangerous message that economic interests outweigh human rights,” Sahotra said. “The EU must ensure that its trade policies uphold its core values of accountability, rule of law and justice for Pakistan’s persecuted minorities.”
In an interview with a Dawn News this week, EU Ambassador to Pakistan Raimundas Karoblis said that Pakistan must make stronger progress on its international commitments to remain eligible for the GSP+ preferential trade scheme.
He said the EU review mission will examine Pakistan’s compliance in areas including human rights, minority protections, the death penalty, blasphemy laws, enforced disappearances, women’s rights, child labor and forced labor.
On enforced disappearances, the ambassador said the issue remained a priority concern for the EU. He acknowledged the establishment of a commission to examine such cases but noted that the mission would assess whether existing mechanisms were adequate.
Pakistan’s GSP+ status was extended in October 2023 until 2027, but the next monitoring cycle is expected to influence Pakistan’s reapplication under the new scheme that will take effect in 2027. In exchange for implementing the 27 conventions, Pakistan has enjoyed duty-free or minimum duty on exports to the European Union on apparel, home textiles and surgical instruments, among other items, according to a 2022 report by the commerce ministry.
Earnings on exports to the EU rose to $3.17 billion in July-October, up from $3 billion over the corresponding months of last year, according to figures by the State Bank of Pakistan released on Monday (Nov. 17).
The EU monitors countries granted GSP+ status to make sure they continue to uphold the international conventions and implements them effectively. Countries must also comply with reporting requirements and accept regular monitoring in accordance with the conventions.
Countries hold meetings on implementation of the 27 conventions, with a public report submitted to Brussels for review every two years.
According to the EU’s GSP Convention Compliance Database, Pakistan has ratified 27 international conventions, most recently ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1976) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1987) in 2010.
Regarding the EU’s monitoring of Pakistan, the body prioritized 13 key areas: enforced disappearances; torture prevention; death penalty; freedom of expression and belief and minority rights; violence against women, transgender persons, and minorities; right to information; labor inspectorates; freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining; child and forced labor; combating climate change and environmental degradation; fight against corruption; drug control; and reporting.
