Brussels, 20/01/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 20 January, the European Parliament rejected the motion of objection introduced by far left MEPs to a delegated regulation adopted by the Commission at the end of 2015, for the GSP + status under the European Union's Generalised Scheme of Preferences granted to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The motion was voted down by the European Parliament today by 530 to 125, with 53 abstentions.
The GUE/NGL group introduced the motion of objection to raise the alarm regarding the deteriorating situation involving human rights in Kyrgyzstan, as reported by many NGOs.
The GSP+ is a preferential tariff system granted by EU member states to developing countries so that they can benefit from trade incentives with EU member states on condition of implementing core international conventions on human and labour rights, sustainable development and good governance.
The most recent report y on Kyrgyzstan by the European Commission, however, lists serious cases of systematic torture in police custody, neglect of women's and children's rights and discrimination against Uzbeks, explains the GUE/NGL group, in a press release.
The GUE/NGL also warns that the Kyrgyz Parliament is about to adopt two “highly problematic” draft laws: one which will define all NGOs receiving international funding as 'foreign agents', and the second on 'propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations' which will discriminate against the LGBT population in the country, with even harsher punishments than in Russia.
The far left group also denounces the restrictions introduced by the country's authorities to the monitoring of their good governance of the international agreements on human rights, as recently highlighted by the Human Rights Watch NGO expert, Mihra Rittmann, who was recently denied access to the country.
Helmut Scholz MEP urged “the Commission to closely follow the developments in Kyrgyzstan. The approval of the two laws against NGOs and against the freedom of sexual orientation should be considered as a serious failure to respect human rights conventions and principles, and this should lead to the suspension of GSP+”. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)