As it prepares for reapplication under the upcoming GSP+ regulation, EU Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR), has reminded Pakistan that tangible reforms are essential for maintaining trade benefits.
During a week-long visit to Pakistan, Olof Skoog, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, warned that Pakistan should not take its GSP+ status for granted. Skoog also urged the government to avoid using military courts for civilian cases and expressed concern over recent attempts to curtail freedom of expression. He reiterated that Pakistan’s trade benefits under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) are contingent upon the country’s continued progress on a range of critical issues, including human rights.
The European Union (EU) is in the process of carrying out the generalised system of preferences (GSP) Plus review to ensure commitment of the beneficiary countries to effectively implement the 27 UN Conventions. In September 2023, the INTA Committee, a trade body of the EU Parliament, had approved the extension of GSP schemes for 60 developing countries, including Pakistan to enjoy duty-free or minimum duty on exports to the European market for another four years until 2027. However, the GSP Plus review is carried out by the EU every two years, and in this context the Monitoring Mission is visiting Pakistan in this quarter of 2025 for a review.
The GSP remains the EU’s main trade policy tool to support developing countries’ exports to the EU customs territory (TAU), supporting economic stability and sustainable development in low-income countries. Since January 2014, Pakistan has been a beneficiary of the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences + (GSP+) status. The scheme grants lower-income countries preferential tariffs for their exports to support sustainable development in these countries and their integration into the global economy. The GSP+ allows Pakistan to export goods to the EU at zero import duties on 66 percent product tariff lines. Yet the scheme comes with significant strings attached and is conditional on recipient countries effectively implementing 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, good governance, and environmental protection. Progress on these areas in beneficiary countries is regularly monitored by civil society actors as well as the European Commission, European Parliament, and representations of the European Council of member states.
In meetings with Pakistan’s leadership, Ambassador Skoog highlighted areas of concern such as the application of blasphemy laws, women’s rights, forced marriages and conversions, enforced disappearances, freedoms of expression, religion or belief, independence of the media, impunity for rights violations, due process and the right to a fair trial, civic space, and the death penalty
The EU had a list of priority areas along with a complete list of issues, that include, among others, effective legislations against enforced disappearances, violence against women & criminalization of torture, reducing the scope of death penalty for only the most serious crimes, combating climate change & environmental degradation and uninterrupted access to internet service, social media & cell phone connectivity.
But a review should foremost take into account that rampant human rights violations, widespread corruption, religious extremism, restrictions on press freedom, suppression of activists and dissent, violence against protesters, a crackdown on Opposition leaders, suppression of democratic freedoms, blasphemy laws, oppression of minorities, political witch-hunts are the characteristics of today’s Pakistan. The weakened capacity of the current government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the heavily polarised nature of Pakistani politics, with former PM Imran Khan still in jail, could make sustained political focus on fulfilling these commitments only more difficult.
In 2021, the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution with overwhelming support calling for a review of Pakistan’s GSP+ status based on blasphemy laws and religious intolerance, which were on wide display during the government’s inability to control the anti-France Islamist protests carried out by the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan group forcing French companies and citizens to leave the country.
Members of the European Parliament such as Barbara Matera have emphasised the rampant issue of honour killings and domestic violence against women in the context of the GSP+ extension.
A March 2022 report by Tom Wilms from the European Institute for Asian Studies that highlights the enduring feudal system in Pakistan, emphasising that support schemes like the GSP+ further exacerbate these social and economic inequalities. The report suggests that the GSP+ support scheme, intended to promote sustainable development, may inadvertently worsen these issues by providing economic benefits without ensuring that the underlying systemic problems are addressed.
The report states, “Ultimately, the core purpose of the GSP+ arrangement is to have a positive impact on the labour conditions for the most vulnerable groups in Pakistan’s society. Yet, this message is still not reaching the top levels and is not enforced enough to Pakistan’s industry stakeholders. In fact, much of the advantages of the EU’s preferential trade scheme in Pakistan are pocketed by the business elite and modern Zamindars (feudal landlords), with little positive impact on the poorest levels of society as envisioned by the GSP+ framework.”
In April 2023, Sweden indefinitely shut down its embassy in Pakistan due to security concerns. Analysts such as Dr Siegfried Wolf from Heidelberg University have alluded to Pakistan’s actions as a state sponsor of terrorism and called for the GSP+ to be removed “as a possible sanctuary measure towards Pakistan”.
There is enough documentary evidence to suggest that Pakistan has been a gross violator of most of the international conventions signed and ratified by itself. Given the growing EU commitment to implement 27 UN conventions related to Climate Change, Interfaith Harmony, Labour Rights, Human Rights, and Anti-Corruption, the EU must take review of Pakistan’s GSP+ status seriously.
Pakistan has faced significant challenges in implementing the 27 UN Conventions required for GSP+ status. These conventions cover key areas such as climate change, interfaith harmony, labour rights, human rights, and anti-corruption. Despite some legislative progress, the practical application has been lacking.
The situation for minorities, particularly Shia Muslims, Hazara Shias, Ahmadiyas, and other groups, remains dire. There have been numerous reports of targeted violence and discrimination against these communities. The violence against Shia Muslims, especially in regions like Kurram, has been described as a slow-motion genocide. This ongoing violence raises serious concerns about Pakistan’s commitment to human rights and the effectiveness of the GSP+ conditionality.
The Baloch and Pashtun ethnic minorities have faced systemic oppression and violence from the Pakistani state for decades. The Pakistani security establishment has been activity involved in targeting Baloch activists, often subjecting them to torture and extrajudicial killings. Enforced disappearances are a particularly egregious issue, with many activists and their family members being abducted without any information on their whereabouts. There have been reports of Baloch political workers being targeted in Western countries, with several journalists and activists being killed under mysterious circumstances. The Baloch diaspora continue to hold public rallies and engage with European parliamentarians to highlight the human rights violations in Pakistan.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and other organizations have repeatedly condemned these actions, but meaningful state intervention remains lacking. Recently, there has been a significant rise in the abductions of Baloch activists by the Pakistan Army. This new wave of state repression has intensified the already precarious situation for the Baloch community. The international community has been urged to hold Pakistan accountable for these human rights violations and to push for transparency and justice for the affected individuals.
Children in Pakistan face various forms of violence and exploitation, including physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and trafficking. The lack of a coordinated child protection case management and referral system has exacerbated the situation. Additionally, child labor remains a significant issue, with millions of children trapped in exploitative work conditions, depriving them of their childhood, health, and education. The government’s response has been inadequate, and there is a significant gap in official data relating to all forms of child exploitation
Most of the 12 conventions related to the environment, good governance and the fight against drug production and trafficking too met similar fate in Pakistan. Pakistan is a major trafficker, processor, and to some extent, producer of illicit opium, which involves thousands of Pakistanis in the high profiting drug business.
Pakistan enjoys the status of being the largest beneficiary of GSP+, with exports to the EU increasing by 108% since the scheme’s launch in 2014. And yet Pakistan has never taken its commitment to the UN Conventions seriously and has remained in violation of them throughout. Against this backdrop, the review of GSP+ status must take cognisance of the failure of the state to recognise these problems and rather continue its systematic policy of minority oppression and ethno-racial abuse.
It is time that the European Commission react more strictly and timely to serious and systematic violations of the covered conventions. The grant or withdrawal of preferences must reflect country-specific circumstances.
The European Commission should in fact make the GSP+ monitoring and review process more transparent – so that it can be understood how a nation like Pakistan with its gross human rights issues could even qualify for the GSP+ status in the first place. The EU must begin by publishing a detailed description of the monitoring process including the involvement of various stakeholders.
The main goal of the GSP+ arrangement is to enhance labor conditions for the most vulnerable in Pakistan. However, this objective has not effectively reached the higher levels and is not being adequately enforced among industry stakeholders. As a result, the benefits of the EU’s preferential trade scheme are largely being appropriated by the business and political elite, rather than positively impacting the poorest segments of society as intended by the GSP+ framework. If Pakistan with its deplorable state of human rights abuses and violations clears the GSP+ review the EU conditionality of implementing 27 international conventions human and labour rights, good governance, and environmental protection itself should come under suspicion.