Members of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, Belgium & Lithuania in Pakistan.
During a visit to Pakistan from September 19-21, a DROI delegation, led by Maria Arena, from Belgium, and comprising Peter van Dalen of The Netherlands and Petras Austrevicius of Lithuania, also urged the government to prevent any misuse of the blasphemy laws.
According to a statement, the visit was the final round of the European Union (EU) monitoring of Pakistan’s preferential trade access to the EU market under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences-Plus (GSP+) for 2014-2033 and its application to the next GSP system.
According to the statement, the delegation met with the ministers for human rights and law, members of the National Commission on Human Rights, parliamentarians, civil society organisations, women rights activists and the media.
“In these discussions, they talked about the criminal justice system, torture and the death penalty, economic and social rights, prevention of domestic violence, and the freedoms of religion and belief and the freedom of expression both online and offline,” the statement said.
The EU is Pakistan’s most important export market and as a major GSP+ country, Pakistan has committed to ratifying 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, sustainable development and good governance.
“Significant progress and renewed commitment to genuinely change the situation on the ground are essential for Pakistan to succeed in its application process for post-2023 GSP+,” said Maria Arena, the head of the delegation.
“Our visit allowed us to get an overall picture of the challenges faced by Pakistan when it comes to human rights. The European Parliament is working hard to adapt the scheme’s human rights requirements and how beneficiary countries and the EU cooperate.”
