Colombo (News 1st): The European Union (EU) has reiterated its opposition to the death penalty in the country.

A joint press release issued following the 22nd session of the European Union – Sri Lanka Joint Commission in Brussels yesterday stated: “The EU also reiterated its opposition to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances and encouraged Sri Lanka to maintain its moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.”

The EU release added that Sri Lanka reaffirmed the commitments made to implement 27 conventions on human and labour rights, environment and good governance in order to benefit from the GSP+ scheme. The EU has also reiterated the need to repeal and replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in order to bring counter terrorism legislation in line with international standards.

The EU and Sri Lanka agreed on a series of actions for follow-up before the next joint commission meeting in Colombo in 2020.

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