All through a quarter-century-long civil war, Sri Lanka witnessed a deeply polarised political environment in which media tended to become a target of systematic abuse and attack. With the government and the principal armed groups involved in the conflict giving little latitude to the possibility of a negotiated solution, media were actively dissuaded from pursuing a process of social dialogue that could potentially explore alternatives to the strategy of war. At the same time, there was an active denial of space for exploring critical stories about the individuals and institutions involved in the war effort.
The investigation with respect to the effective implementation of certain human rights conventions in Sri Lanka was initiated by the Commission Decision of 14 October 2008 (OJEU L277/34 of 18 October 2008) pursuant to Article 18(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 980/2005.1 Article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) 980/2005 provided for the temporary withdrawal of the special incentive arrangement referred to in Section 2 of Chapter II of that Regulation (the “GSP+” treatment), if the national legislation incorporating those conventions referred to in Annex III of the Regulation which had been ratified in fulfilment of the requirements of Article 9(1) and (2) was not effectively implemented.