Sri Lanka: The failure of EU human rights sanctions

The EU has taken a tough stance on the human rights situation in Sri Lanka. However, despite being a major donor and trading partner of Sri Lanka, EU sanctions have had little impact.

This policy brief examines why EU pressure on Sri Lanka has not worked. In particular, it argues that the EU did not take sufficient account of the strategic interests of China and India in the country or of internal political shifts within Sri Lanka. The EU also failed to seize those opportunities for influence that it did have and did not coordinate its response internally or with other actors. The EU must change its approach to promoting human rights in South Asia in order to respond to changing regional power dynamics.

http://eeas.europa.eu/sri_lanka/index_en.htm http://eeas.europa.eu/sri_lanka/index_en.htm

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