Tajikistan’s GSP+ Quest

After years of flirting, Tajikistan formally applied for the European Union’s Generalized Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+) program in April 2023. It was a bold move for the authoritarian state given that human rights considerations are baked into the requirements of the GSP+. Dushanbe had spent much of 2022 engaging in a devastating crackdown centered on the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the Pamiri minority, which inhabits the mountains that dominate Tajikistan’s east.

The GSP+, as explained in the European Commission’s most recent assessment report, “unilaterally provides preferential access to the Union market through reduced or removed EU import tariffs, to foster the sustainable development of lower income countries and to reduce poverty through international trade. GSP benefits are linked to beneficiary countries’ respect of international standards on human rights, labor rights, environment and climate, and good governance.” (emphasis added)

The European Commission requires that GSP+ countries ratify 27 international conventions and cooperate with the European Commission to monitor the implementation of those conventions, which notably include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, among many others. These two in particular, when considered beside Tajikistan’s record of detaining journalists and government critics – as well as any lawyers brave enough to defend them – should preclude Dushanbe from benefiting from the program.

In mid-December the 14th EU-Tajikistan Human Rights Dialogue was hosted by Dushanbe, during which the EU “expressed concerns” on an array of issues. The GSP+ application was, according to an EU readout, discussed. Tajikistan’s views on the dialogue have not been reported.

And then on January 17, the European Parliament adopted a resolution strongly condemning the Tajik government for suppressing independent media, critics, and lawyers and insisted that the poor state of freedom of expression in Tajikistan “should be taken into account when assessing the application to GSP+” and for negotiation of the new EU-Tajikistan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (EPCA).

The parliamentary resolution specifically cited a cadre of Tajik journalists who, since October 2022, have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including Abdullo Ghurbati, Daler Imomali, Zavqibek Saidamini, Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, Ulfatkhonim Mamadshoeva, Khushruz Jumayev, and Khurshed Fozilov. It also noted the cases of human rights lawyers Manuchehr Kholiknazarov and Buzurgmehr Yorov.

The resolution cited the harassment of “the only two significant independent news agencies” in the country – Asia Plus and RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, Radio Ozodi – and “pressure exerted by authorities on domestic media.” It went on to mention “self-censorship” as a result of this pressure helping “facilitate Russian propaganda and disinformation, in particular by stifling coverage of the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.”

For such a short document, the European Parliament’s resolution demonstrates a clear awareness of the situation in Tajikistan. It also echoes the concerns raised in the December human rights dialogue and those aired consistently by human rights organizations as well as several different U.N. special rapporteurs.

In early July 2023, a group of 10 U.N. experts – including special rapporteurs whose mandates cover human rights defenders, religious freedom, judges and lawyers, and the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism – issued a statement urging Tajikistan “to show genuine commitment to improving the situation of human rights defenders in the country.” The U.N. experts also expressed concern about the convictions of several human rights defenders (it is not incidental that the July U.N. list maps almost entirely onto that of the EU Parliament list noted above).

In an interview with The Diplomat at the time, Mary Lawlor, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, highlighted Tajikistan’s quest for the GSP+ as leverage – if Brussels managed to pay attention to more than just the technical ratification of the relevant treaties and focus on the reality of their implementation, or lack thereof.

In November, it was reported that a GSP+ assessment mission was scheduled to head for Tajikistan in December, but as of mid-January, it was not clear if such a mission took place (separate from the human rights dialogue mentioned above) or what the results of the mission were.

Iskra Kirova, Europe and Central Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in November, “The appeal of its single market provides the EU with a unique opportunity to use soft power to achieve change, and GSP+ was conceived to do precisely that… Yet, if Brussels does not insist on its partners’ obligations, it would not only damage the tool’s credibility but undercut its own global influence.”

Based on the EU’s own requirements, Tajikistan does not meet the standard to benefit from the GSP+. Europe has, at present, its thumb on an actual point of pressure for the regime in Dushanbe – a rare thing. Whether Tajikistan is successful in its effort to gain greater access to European markets will depend, it seems, on how committed Brussels is to human rights and whether it will use the leverage it has to motivate improvements.