PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Roman Catholic Archbishop Jason Gordon has criticized the recently signed Samoa Agreement that will serve as an overarching legal framework for the relations between the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) for the next 20 years.
The agreement was signed last Wednesday in Apai and succeeds the Cotonou Agreement.
It covers sustainable development, growth, human rights, peace, and security.
The provisional application of the agreement will start on Jan 1, 2024. It will enter into force upon consent by the European Parliament and ratification by all EU member states and at least two-thirds of the 79 OACPS members.
But Archbishop Gordon said that while the agreement is “written as a trade agreement and an agreement of support, financially, etc. for the African Caribbean and Pacific nations, embedded in that agreement and when it is signed it is for 20 years and cannot be revoked …is anyone who signs that agreement will have abortion legislation in their countries.
“They will have to impose abortion legislation, transgender, LBGTQ, comprehensive sex education, a whole range of values will be imposed because of the signing of that document,” he added.
Media reports said that Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, as well as Namibia, are OACPS countries that have not yet signed the agreement that the European Commissioner for International Partnership, Jutta Urpilainen, said provides “a modernized framework to revitalize our relations with the largest grouping of partner countries to provide a platform for dialogue and coordination to face the challenges of our times together.”
Archbishop Gordon said the “EU is imposing upon us an ideology that is not ours and a value system that is not ours.
“And if we don’t understand and wake up and smell the coffee quickly, we will find ourselves with values, laws, expectations, and things being touted as right that have nothing to do with us Caribbean people.
“Wake up and smell the coffee. It isn’t far away. It is right here,” the head of the Roman Catholic Church here said, adding that he was thankful to God that the Keith Rowley administration had not signed the document.
“Thank God for that. Our government got wind of it, have seen and understood, and they are saying they don’t have enough information to be able to sign….Thank God for that. Jamaica came out clearly and said we are not for sale.
“They came out up front, publicly, and said we are not for sale. It is the rest of the small islands of the Caribbean that I worry about today because whoever signs that document will then have to impose laws on their people that are not in keeping with the cultural values of us Caribbean people. It will be a colonial imposition one more time on small, fragile states, on Africa, the Pacific, and us here in the Caribbean,” Archbishop Gordon said.
The ACP-EU partnership is one of the oldest and most comprehensive frameworks for cooperation between the EU and third countries. The new agreement’s denomination was agreed upon at the 46th session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, now underway here.
OACPS Secretary General Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti said the new treaty has key provisions for regular review and the involvement of non-state actors.
“An essential aspect of this agreement is that partners can sit together every five years to see where to improve. This engagement is significant for the region.
“Another important aspect is that as we move from Cotonou to Samoa, we see engagement will be more and more collective, with civil society participating in all major issues our regions face. The new agreement fosters large participation from civil society,” he added.
The new Samoa Agreement outlines common principles and covers human rights, democracy and governance, peace and security, and human and social development.
inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development, environmental sustainability, and climate change migration and mobility
The agreement includes a standard foundation, which applies to all parties, combined with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, with a focus on the specific needs of each region.
The 27 EU member states and the 79 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries represent around two billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations.
The EU said with this new agreement. The parties will be better equipped to address emerging needs and global challenges, such as climate change, ocean governance, migration, health, peace, and security.
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