Prevention of Terrorism Act Reform

Debate surrounding Sri Lanka's Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) and efforts to replace it with human rights-compliant legislation. The PTA reform is linked to EU GSP+ trade preference conditions.

Sri Lanka's been negotiating with the EU since 2017 like someone on a diet promising to start Monday—except Monday keeps getting rescheduled and now we're in a different calendar system. GSP+ was dangling there like the carrot at the end of a stick attached to a law that apparently needs a constitutional amendment, three court cases, and an act of parliament just to say the word "reform."